(New Buffalo, MI) - The Red Arrow Raiders ended the football season on the wrong side of a shellacking by one of the best small-school teams in the state. Martin High School defeated the Raiders 55-0 Friday night at New Buffalo.

 

The first play on offense by the Monarchs was a 74 touchdown run on a keeper by speedy quarterback JR Hildebrand. However, the Raiders came back on offense to notch four consecutive first downs on passes from quarterback Eli Thomas to wide receiver Michael Flick and a rush up the middle by running back Ben Coffeen. However, the drive stalled at the 35-yard line of the Monarchs, who were then stopped on their next series of downs.

 

The Raiders started their next drive close to the 50-yard line but fumbled, and Martin scored a 51-yard touchdown on another quarterback keeper after recovering the ball. 

 

The offense for Martin immediately retook the field after recovering the ball from an onside kick. Two touchdown runs followed, but each play was called back from penalties. Martin then marched into the end zone without a penalty on a 28-yard screen pass.

 

The Monarchs scored two more touchdowns in the second quarter, including a 90 yard run into the end zone by Hildebrand.

 

Head Coach Matt Johnson said his team could have been more competitive had it not been for season-ending injuries to key players like starting quarterback Michael Bombin several weeks ago. The injuries forced him to use several players, including freshmen, called up from the junior varsity program.

 

“I thought the kids did really, really well considering their experience level in a game like that,” he said.

Johnson also pointed out Martin never scored from driving the ball down the field. Instead, he said their touchdowns were from big plays resulting from mistakes in execution by defenders lacking varsity experience.

 

Despite their injuries and demanding schedule, the Raiders wound up with a 4-5 record. One of the wins was from a forfeit by Bangor, but Johnson said he was confident his team would have won had that game been played. He also felt losses to solid Tri-Unity Christian, Lawrence, and Maple Valley teams could have been victories had it not been for injuries and mistakes by players still learning the game.

 

The Raiders are losing Bombin, Coffeen, Flick, and Chris Israelite to graduation but return key players like Thomas and promising strong-armed freshman Ethan Lijewski. Lijewski, suffering from a concussion, was among the players who missed the last few games of the season.

 

Johnson said he’s also not losing any members from his offensive and defensive lines.

 

“We got some guys that will be able to fill those skill positions fairly well,” he said.