Raiders run past Blue Jays

Northwest runningback Chris Lee gained 260 yards on 15 carries and scored four touchdowns to help lead the Raiders to a 68-32 win over St. Edmund in the season opener.
“It was a tough night on both sides of the ball for us,” St. Edmund head coach Thomas David said. “We turned the ball over way too much on offense to give oursleves a chance.
“If you want to win a game, you have to protect the football and we didn’t do that at all.”
The Blue Jays started with a bang as St. Edmund moved the ball 55 yards on 10 plays to score the first points of the high-scoring contest.
Gibson LaFleur hauled in a 13-yard scoring strike from Drake Brunet.
The two-point conversion failed but the Blue Jays led 6-0 with 8:50 left in the first period.
Northwest’s defense made the next big play as Gaige Willis raced 49 yards to score on an interception return.
Lee added the two-point conversion to give the Raiders an 8-6 advantage with 1:55 remaining in the first period.
Early in the second period, Lee raced 60 yards to score and added the two-point conversion to push the Raiders ahead, 16-6 with 11:50 left before intermission.
The Blue Jays responded with a 61-yard drive that took just three plays capped by a 14-yard touchdown run by LaFleur.
The two-point conversion attempt failled but the Jays closed the gap to 16-12 with 11:20 left in the second period.
The Blue Jays continued to light up the scoreboard when LaFleur raced 58 yards with a Brunet pass as St. Edmund retook a 18-16 lead with 7:19 remaining in the quarter.
Northwest answered with a four-play, 59 yard drive completed when Terrell Guillory scored on a 18-yard screen pass from Damarcus Stevens.
Lee ran in the two-point conversion to push the Raiders ahead 24-18 with 5:38 left before the break.
The two offenses were not finished as both teams scored again in the half.
Northwest recovered their on-side kick but two plays later St. Edmund’s Noah Russell recovered a Raider fumble near midfield.
A acreen pass from Brunet to LaFleur set up a wide-open William Chachere for a 34-yard touchdown.
The two-point conversion failed as St. Edmund tied the game 24-24 with 4:39 left.
Northwest took just three plays to go 56 yards on their next possession, capped by a 42-yard touchdown run by Lee as the Raiders took a 30-24 lead with 3:50 remaining in the half.
After forcing a punt to open the third period, the Blue Jays scored on their first play as Brunet connected with Chachere for a 64-yard touchdown.
Chachere then caught the two-point conversion from Brunet as St. Edmund grabbed a 32-30 advantage with 9:14 left in the third quarter.
After the Raiders pinned the Blue Jays deep with a long punt, the Northwest defense recovered a St. Edmund fumble as Gaige Willis scored on a 5-yard recovery run.
Stevens ran in the two-point conversion to push the Raiders ahead, 38-32 with 2:44 left in the third period.
The Blue Jays were forced to punt and Northwest then went 50 yards in five plays for their next touchdown.
Lee scored from 12 yards out and added the two-point conversion to give te Raiders a 46-32 margin with 2:44 left in the third quarter.
St. Edmund’s troubles continued when Jonvate Charles scored on a fumble return.
Lee’s two-point conversion run pushed the Raiders ahead, 54-32 with 2:18 remaining.
Willis then grabbed an interception to give Northwest the ball back.
Lee raced 51 yards on the second play of the drive to score.
Stevens ran in the two-point conversion as Northwest held a 62-32 lead with 1:04 left in the period,
After holding the Jays on fourth down early in the fourth period, Northwest added their final touchdown on a 27-yard run by Stevens.
The two-point conversion failed as the Raiders led 68-32 with 7:58 left in the contest.
The Blue Jays finished with 234 yards passing and 375 yards of total offense.
Brunet finished 12-of-31 for 234 yards with two interceptions.
Chachere had four catches for 119 yards and two scores.
Northwest finished with 437 yards of total offense including 372 rushing.
St. Edmund travels to Iota this Friday.