Raider Jayden Stox goes up looking to haul in a touchdown in the end zone against two James Kenan defenders.
Midway quarterback Tanner Williams rolls out and releases a pass to an awaiting defender during Friday’s loss to James Kenan.
A banged up Midway football team traveled to Warsaw Friday night, taking on James Kenan in the Raiders’ first road game in the Swine Valley 2A/3A Conference. It was Homecoming for the Tigers and the Raiders were hoping to spring an upset and spoil the festivities. James Kenan, though, was having none of it. Their offense proved impossible to stop for Midway and the Tigers surged to a 42-22 victory.
With the opening kick out of the way, James Kenan took the first possession and lined up on their own 33-yard line. The Tigers, a well-known run-heavy offensive team, settled in and went to work. After picking up a couple of quick first downs, Christopher Hill burst free and was off to the races for a 43-yard touchdown run. The PAT was converted and with 8:59 on the clock, James Kenan led 7-0.
After the ensuing kickoff, Midway lined up on their own 22-yard line looking to counter. Unfortunately for them, they lost a risky gamble on fourth and one, and two plays later, a 27-yard touchdown catch by Tiger Jeremiah Hall really turned the tide. With the PAT converted, the Tigers had surged ahead at 14-0 with 6:28 to go in the first quarter.
The Raiders had a better starting position for their next possession, lining up on their own 42-yard line. After absorbing a false start, Wesley Tew reeled off a big run to get Midway down into JK territory. The Raiders were on the Tigers’ 32-yard line but stalled there, failing to convert on a quarterback keeper by Tanner Williams.
James Kenan coughed up a gift for the Raiders on their first play of the next drive, fumbling the ball away right where Midway had just lost possession. Tew and the Raiders went back to work, looking to stop the bleeding. Indeed, Midway capped the drive off with a 6-yard touchdown run by Tew, drawing the Raiders close again. After the PAT, the Tigers led 14-7.
James Kenan got a strong kickoff return on the next play and started on their own 41-yard line. As the game rolled into the second quarter, the Tigers were right back on the prowl, eyeing another touchdown in Midway territory. On the second play of the quarter, Hall hauled in a 20-yard touchdown completion and pushed the lead back to 21-7 with 11:25 on the clock in the second quarter.
The Raiders took their next possession, lined up on their own 21-yard line looking to answer once again. They did, and in style, when Williams found Tew on a 63-yard touchdown catch and run for the score. The PAT was again good; with 8:41 left in the half, Midway was keeping pace at 21-14.
But like clockwork, the Tigers came right back. Their offense went back to work and plowed the field, destined for seven more points. They found the payload again at the 1:43 mark and pushed their lead back to 28-14. After the kickoff, the Raiders had 1:43 and three timeouts to try and go 61 yards before the half. They came close, but a Williams pass was intercepted in the end zone. At halftime, James Kenan led 28-14.
Unable to stop the Tigers offense in the first half, the Raiders needed a score to try and keep pace. The first drive faced several challenges but Midway found a way to move the chains into JK territory. They got down to the Tigers 15-yard line but coughed up a fumble to take away a critical scoring chance. Two plays later, James Kenan made them pay on an 81-yard touchdown run by Hall to really open up their advantage. With the PAT, the Tigers led 35-14 with 4:18 on the clock in the third quarter.
Things were getting rough on the next Midway drive as tempers began to flare. James Kenan was flagged for a couple of personal foul penalties, putting the Raiders deep into Tigers’ territory. With 1:11 left in the third quarter, Tew picked up a short touchdown run up the middle and also added the 2-point try, bringing the score to 35-22.
That’s as close as Midway would get, though, as James Kenan’s offense produced another touchdown to extend the lead early in the fourth quarter. Back up 42-22 score with 11:36 to play, the Tigers defense settled into a long Raiders possession that ate up most of the clock. The drive moved deep into JK territory, but Midway ran out of gas with about 4:00 to go and turned the ball back over.
From there, the Tigers ran out the clock and took home the 42-22 victory.
Offensively for Midway, Williams completed 10-of-16 passes for one touchdown and one interception. He also contributed 20 yards on five rushing attempts. Some of his top receivers were Sam Dudley, who caught two passes for 72 yards, Cameron Register had two completions for 31 yards, and Nathue Myles three catches for 23 Myles.
On the ground, Tew carried the load for the Raiders, getting 100 yards on 25 carries. Myles added 28 yards on seven carries.
With the loss, Midway drops to 5-2 overall and 2-1 in conference play. They’ll try and regroup ahead of another big game next week when the Raiders host Wallace-Rose Hill, a team that seems to have turned the corner after a shaky start back at the beginning of the season.
