Sports
After Grueling Offseason, Raiders Ready to Roll
Redan Coach Lawrence put his players through very rigorous spring and summer workouts in hopes of having them prepared for a run at the region championship this season.
After a grueling offseason, Redan's Raiders are pumped about getting the 2011 season started and trying to improve on last year's 5-5 record.
Head Coach Clinton Lawrence said, "The offseason went extremely well. It was very tough, very rigorous work but our players responded extremely well. We got a lot of cooperation and we were very pleased with their effort."
The Raiders, who face Lithonia today at 4:30 pm at Hallford Stadium, will have to replace a dozen or so starters who have departed, evenly distributed between the offense and defense. But Lawrence says he has confidence in the players that will step up to replace them.
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Junior quarterback Monquavious Johnson will lead a multiple set offense.
Johnson has never played quarterback at the varsity level but Lawrence says, "He's a talented kid who learned the offense well in the offseason. We have a lot of confidence in him."
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Johnson will have a speed merchant to join him in the backfield in senior running back Troy Howard, a downhill runner who was a state qualifier in the 100 meters last year.
The offensive line where seniors Jason Black and Christian Kelley return should be a real strength for the Raiders. The starting tight end, junior Tyler Layton, also returns. Moving over from the defensive side to fill in up front will be Devin Harris, Chuck Flemings and Eric Walker.
The defense should be solid with seniors Antonio Jackson and Deion Cohen returning in the secondary. But, Lawrence will also have to find some solid replacements to go along with linemen Layton, Andrew Williams and linebacker Elliott Swope.
"Our goal is to come out strong and win four of the first five, if not all five, before the break," Lawrence said. "That should get us ready to play a very tough second half of the schedule. Timing is going to be very important. The more we play together, the better we're going to get. If our offense can play without too many mistakes, our defense is good enough to get some turnovers and help us win."
