The 9-11 Sykesville Raiders defeated the Howard County Terps on Saturday, 14-12, moving the Raiders into the MMYFCL Super Bowl vs. Columbia Ravens.

This team has been motivated not only by fans, family and coaches, but also cheered and motivated by a group of men and women in Iraq.

Master Sgt. John Hornick, uncle of player Ryan Frye, has been sending words of encouragement via e-mail and pictures.

The connection has encouraged players to win for Hornick and his outfit and it has given the boys a boost of pride, knowing they are doing what they can to support men and women serving our country overseas.

Behind the defensive line of John Knox, Tom Whalen, Justin Whitfelt, Alex Vucco and Joey Bender, the Raiders pushed the Terps backward most of the day.

Huge plays by Kyle Costibile and Kyle Leonard contained the speed of the Terps, while Ryan Frye and Jake Roach punished Terps running backs.

Tyler Webster guided the Raiders offense with strong runs from Nick Gesualdi, catches from Deion Minor and impressive blocking by Heydon Foster, Cole Gable, Logan Harpine and Jake Rubenstien. A key drive was capped with a 25-yard pass from Webster to Tayler Ryder for a touchdown. Whitfelt added the two-point conversion to give the Raiders a 8-6 lead.

In the second half, with two minutes left in the third quarter, Geusuldi took a handoff from Webster and followed stellar blocks from Roach, Gable and Leonard to punch in the game winner.

The Raiders pulled out a great victory for themselves their families and their adopted family in the USMC.

The Super Bowl is Saturday vs. the Columbia Ravens.

Raiders E National advances

The Raiders E National team defeated the Warhawks in its playoff semifinal, 14-7, and will play the Terps on Saturday for the title. The Raiders moved the ball throughout the game behind strong running by Brendan Webster, Noah Rohrer and Jeremy Barger.

The offensive line, led by John Klein, Garrett Cooper, Tommy Ellis and Blaine Roach, opened holes to support the running effort. Barger put the first points on the board with a 20-yard touchdown run. Jake Griffin powered in a one-yard run in the final minute to gain the lead. Zachary Owings nailed the kick for two extra points.

Kevin Foster, Cole Casey and Christian O'Hern led the Raiders' powerful defensive effort.

Raiders A United in Super Bowl

The Raiders A United faced the Linganore Lancers at home on Nov. 7 in the second round of playoffs, and came away with a Super Bowl berth with a 28-0 win.

The Raiders defense opened the game with Donnie Knox and Matt Hunter turning in big plays.

For the Raiders, Logan Brennan punted from his own goal line to place the Lancers on the 46 yard line. Justin Murphy contributed on special teams.

Oscar Callejas and Sean Twigg turned in good tackles and Mark Wells intercepted a Lancers pass.

On offense, Matt Pluta and Twigg powered the running game, and Matt Caillouet ran a quarterback keeper for a touchdown. Pluta added the extra point.

More good tackles were turned in by Chris Kircher, Zachary Custred, Leland Johnson, John Bender, Hunter and Knox, and later in the half, back on offense, Caillouet aired a pass to Spenser Ricks in the end zone for a touchdown. Pluta ran in another extra point for a 14-0 halftime lead.

In the fourth quarter, Wells snagging another interception, and Caillouet ran for a touchdown to make the score 20-0. Late in the game Caillouet again ran a keeper in for a touchdown, and Callejas topped it off with the extra point conversion.

Also of note were tackles by Joe Adams, and key blocks by Alex Bontzos. Zach Schmidt played a great game at center with precise handling of the ball in every snap.

In the Super Bowl this Saturday, Nov. 15, the Raiders will face cross-town rivals, the Winfield Cavaliers.

B-Federal Silver avenge loss

The Raiders B-Federal Silver team defeated the Western Howard County Warhawks in the second round of the playoffs, 32-7, avenging their only loss of the year.

The defense contained the Warhawks and forced three turnovers. Carter Robins intercepted a pass and ran it in for a touchdown, Wesley Prettyman returned a fumble for a touchdown and Jon Pierce also had an interception.

The raider offense line of Adam Fetterman, Ben Carroll, Rob Lofink, Adam Cole and Hunter Eisel provided open lanes to help create touchdowns by Levi Robey, Justin Keller and Carter Robins.

Silver 8-0 Federal shines

The Sykesville Raiders Silver 8-10 Federal team advanced with a tough 12-6 playoff win against the Western Howard County Warhawks.

The Raiders will now face the Reisterstown Mustangs in the 8-10 Federal Division Super Bowl.

The Raiders defense shut down the Warhawks, allowing only three first downs and no points. The Warhawk touchdown came on a punt return.

The stingy Raider defense was led by Jake Kropinski, Austin Bromley and Kyle Hillman. The defensive line of Levi Custred, Jake Hitchcock, Adam Lanni, Corey Lesko and Tommy Batson shut down the Warhawks' running game.

The Raiders scored on their first drive with a 35-yard run by Max Kirin. On the second drive, the Raiders had a six-minute drive capped off by a 5-yard touchdown by Paul Candland. Quarterback Ryan Heim had a great day, and the offensive line of Jordan Santis, Andrew Zahn, Cole Stambaugh, Johnathan Ashby and Matt Shephard provided great interior blocking while Tyler Madeira made key blocks to help the Raiders' outside game.

Raiders D Federal Black

The Raiders D Federal Black Team advanced to the Super Bowl with a 19-16 win over St. Peters Panthers. Overcoming a 8-0 half-time deficit, the Raiders came out at the start of the third quarter and reeled off 19 straight points.

The second half effort was led by Harrison Trostle, who tallied 161 yards on 28 carries and one touchdown, Jimmy Lucas with 37 yards and a touchdown, and Luke Brandenburg with 33 yards and a score as well. Lucas also caught two passes for 34 yards.

The offensive line -- led by Jake Rogers, Vince Ferraris, Matt Haerbig, Zach Frizzera and Kevin Gicking -- kept the Panthers out of the backfield.

The defense was led by the efforts of Michael Presley, Blake Kissinger, and Trostle with four tackles each, and Nathan Haerbig, Frizzera and Lucas with three apiece. Strong line play was turned in by Chris Maurantonio, Sean Wolfe, Wes Hamilton and Sam Ashe. Trostle and Presley each added a fumble recovery as well.

Raiders B-2 Federal Black

The Raiders topped the Hawks, 19-12, in a second round playoff game, and now advance to the Super Bowl to face their counterpart, Sykesville Silver.

The Raiders-Hawks game began with both teams scoring on their first possessions. Randall Rill scored the Raider's first touchdown after Ryan Upton moved the ball close with a 30-yard run. CJ Mackinson ran in the second touchdown after a 30-yard kick off return. With the score at 12-12 with two minutes left, the Raiders were saved by a fumble recovery by Nathan Engle, assisted by Upton, which led to the game winning touchdown run by Rill and extra point by Joey Lucas.

Other noteworthy plays included an onside kick and recovery by Alex Murri, a quarterback sack by Rill, great tackling by Murri, Upton, Rill, Mackinson, Casey McNulty, Michael Ryan, Vinny Oneto and Travis Smith and yardage gained by Chris Ricks.

At The Eagle's press time, some Super Bowl game times this weekend were not yet set. For an updated schedule, go to www.SykesvilleRaiders.org.

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