Pine’s Raiders open up their home schedule tonight after a pair of road losses, as they take on Independence.
“It’s the first home game of the year,” Pine coach Bradley Seal said. “We’re coming off of two close losses. We need this win. We’re excited about hosting our first home of the season.”
Seal’s team is 0-2 after falling to Pearl River, 20-19, and Varnado last week 39-17.
In the game against Varnado, the Raiders trailed 19-17 halfway through the fourth quarter before the Wildcats tallied the game’s final 20 points.
Seal said one of the things he’s been happy with has been his offensive line, which he said is getting a tremendous push for his club.
The center is Allan Freeman. He is joined by guards Brandon Kelly and D.J. Thomas and tackles Brandon Jones and Kabartis Ginn.
The group helped the Raiders run for 293 yards last week. Adarrius Berry led the rushing attack with 148 yards on 25 carries and a touchdown. This season, Berry has 261 rushing yards.
Quarterback Joey Seal, who threw for 42 yards, finished with 68 rushing yards on 16 carries. Seal has run for 150 yards.
Delvrick Dillon finished with 57 rushing yards and Jarwin Jordan ran for 20 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, Seal said the entire line and linebackers are playing well, especially middle linebacker Tate Roach, outside linebacker Demarcus Fland and end Colby Powell.
Last week, Roach posted eight tackles and a sack. Powell has had a sack in each of the first two games. Also last week, Colton Terrell made both extra points and was good on a 29-yard field goal.
Independence opens this week with a 1-1 record. Last week, the Tigers lost to St. Helena College & Career Academy, 28-6, after topping Springfield, 28-27, in week one.
“We have a young football team and we have to play through mistakes and learn from them,” Independence coach Keith Carona said. “If we eliminate our mistakes, we’re pretty good. We’ve got some talent, but we’re young.”
The Tigers’ quarterback is sophomore Marquel Jackson, who is a second-year starter. The running backs are sophomore Michael Tanner and Shabazz Holden.
“Michael is a little smaller and shiftier. Shabazz is more brute strength,” Holden said.
The receivers include Damien Morgan and Jude Perrin. Against Springfield, Morgan caught four passes for 80 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, the Tigers use a four-man front. The top players include lineman Paul Rogers, linebacker Ladarious Wilson and Stephan Jackson.