(New Buffalo, MI) - The Red Arrow Raiders scored the first 20 points before cruising to victory during a Homecoming game Friday against Wyoming Lee.
The final score was 72-to-28 on a blustery and sometimes rainy night in New Buffalo.
The offense for the Raiders scored on their first snap of the game when quarterback Ethan Lijewski hooked up with Ryder Wolnik for a 50-yard touchdown.
After catching the ball, Wolnik ran 35 yards into the endzone.
A short time later, Wolnik struck again on defense when he intercepted a pass at the 50-yard line and took the ball to the five-yard line. Wolnik on third down then powered his way up the middle for a three-yard touchdown run.
He and Owen Slavens were major factors in the next scoring drive for the Raiders, mostly from rushing plays.
Slavens did have a nine-yard gain on a pass from Lijewski before gaining just enough ground on a rushing play for a first down. A few plays later, Payton Lijewski caught a short pass for a touchdown to make the score 20-0.
The Legends came right back though, with a long kick-off return before running the ball on the next play 25 yards into the endzone.
Rain mixed with hail started falling rather heavily in the second quarter. Just before halftime, with the Raiders ahead 28-16, the game was delayed for 30 minutes due to lightning.
There was less than a minute left on the clock when play resumed, but the Raiders twice put the ball into the end zone once on a 37-yard touchdown pass to Wolnik.
The Raiders then recovered the ball on the kickoff and Lijewski soon ran it five yards into the endzone.
Wolnik, who grabbed another interception in the second half, finished with close to 200 yards receiving and 83 yards rushing, while Lijewski racked up more than 250 yards passing.
“It was a good win,” said Head Coach Matt Johnson.
Wolnik also ran the ball in for two two-point conversions and had several tackles for loss of yardage.
“He had a hell of a game,” Johnson said.
After a disappointing loss the previous week, Johnson said his players responded by executing much better and handling the athletic ability of the opposing quarterback and wide receivers.
“Everything we did ended up working,” he said
