Raiders Stymied By Mustangs Defense

Roseville Area High School's football team found out how stingy Mounds View’s defense can be on Friday night.

The Raiders (2-2, 2-2) committed five turnovers in a 27-7 loss to the Mustangs. A long drive and a quick play put the Mustangs up 13-0 right away in the first quarter, and the Raiders never fully recovered as their offense struggled.

“I’m pleased with our effort,” Raiders coach Chris Simdorn said. “We just kept making too many mistakes. You can’t turn the football over and have penalties against a good football team.”

The Mustangs (3-1, 3-1), ranked 9th in the state, have kept three of four opponents in the single digits this season.

“We needed to beat Mounds View,” Simdorn said. “They don’t turn the ball over and make mistakes.”

Raiders quarterback Jaques Perra found Emeche Wells for a 42-yard touchdown late in the first quarter, but the Raiders never found the end zone again.

“We had a number of penalties that stopped some drives,” Simdorn said.

“Our front had been giving Jaques good coverage all year,” Simdron added. “He was under pressure all night. Those [Mounds View] defensive tackles were coming at him all night. They were blitzing and mixing that up. If we had protected our passer, I thought we could have thrown the ball a little more effectively.”

Defensively, the Raiders kept the Mustangs in check, allowing only 14 points the rest of the way. The Mustangs’ last score came on a three-yard run following a Raiders turnover.

“On that first drive, the defense didn’t do all that well, but we made adjustments and kept with those adjustments,” Raiders linebacker Siah Hawton said. “There were a couple of times we lulled a little bit on defense and it killed us.”

The Raiders showed signs of fighting back in the fourth quarter while trailing 20-7. They moved the ball  to the 45 yard-line with some bruising runs by Matthew Peckham.

Perra also found Jordan Skinner deep on a later drive for a pass completion in Mustang territory. Yet, both drives resulted in turnovers instead of scores.

“We were big underdogs, so we wanted to make it closer than it was,” Skinner said. “It was a good pass by Jaques.”

Perra passed for 151 yards, and Skinner caught two passes for 57 yards. Wells had 68 yards receiving on four receptions, and Peckham rushed for 57 yards on 15 carries.

The Mustangs corralled the Raiders ground game otherwise with 71 yards allowed. That aided the Mustangs in picking off Perra three times.

“Our offense just has to work out some kinks,” Hawton said.

The loss dropped the Raiders to 2-2 overall and in the Suburban East Conference play. They will look to shake off the mistakes and seek a win at homecoming against Forest Lake next Friday.

“We need to get the momentum to start out,” Hawton said. “We need the offense to pick up and the defense to shut them down that first drive.”