(New Buffalo, MI) - The Red Arrow Raiders notched their first victory in the high school football season in a big way.

 

On Saturday, the team comprised of students from New Buffalo and River Valley defeated the Twin City Sharks 82-12 at Lake Michigan Catholic High School.  

 

Head Coach Matt Johnson gave some of the credit for the lopsided victory to correcting mistakes in execution during a hard-fought loss the previous week to Tri-Unity Christian.

 

“We spent a lot of time on that and the kids were hungry to win,” Johnson said.

 

Johnson said he was surprised at the margin of victory because of the Sharks' level of talent in critical positions like the quarterback. The Sharks also defeated Tri-Unity Christian earlier in the season.

 

“They had some really good athletes,” Johnson explained.  

 

The Twin City squad consists of students from Lake Michigan Catholic, Michigan Lutheran, and Countryside Academy.

 

Leading the Raiders on offense was quarterback Michael Bombin who completed 7 of his 11 passes for 144 yards. Bombin also ran for another 101 yards on six carries and scored five touchdowns. Bombin was also a significant contributor on defense with eight tackles and two interceptions.

 

Eli Thomas ran for 107 yards on seven carries and caught three passes for 37 yards with six touchdowns.

 

Ben Coffeen added 47 yards on seven rushes. He also ran 52 yards for a touchdown after recovering a fumble.

 

Johnson also credited his defensive line for consistently pressuring the quarterback and offense line for protecting the quarterback.

 

The Sharks were able to gain just 46 rushing yards on 17 carries and 152 passing yards on 32 pass attempts.

 

The Raiders (1-2) play Friday night again at Eau Claire.

 

“Eau Claire’s got some kids that can play.  They’ve got a pretty good defense. Their quarterback is elusive. They got a running back that is really good. We have to be ready for a battle,” Johnson said.

Johnson said his team is still not where he wants it to be. However, he believes the victory over the Sharks was a step in the right direction toward what can be a solid season.

 

“We’re always striving for perfection so that’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to keep working to try and be perfect and be better this week than we were last week,” he said.