Raiders fall to Ottawa

[attach]6383[/attach]When Toronto Raiders quarterback Kelly Hughes suffered a knee injury in the first quarter Aug. 4, it sealed the team’s playoff fate.

The setback resulted in a 47–14 road loss to the Ottawa Invaders in a quarterfinal playoff game at in the Northern Football Conference — a league that features players looking to enhance their football experience, and prepare for collegiate football.

“We played well in the second half, it’s just that once the quarterback got hurt, I felt that the mentality changed,” said Raiders general manager Gary Wright.

The coaching staff replaced Hughes with Luke Zetazate, who completed three passes for the game and scored a touchdown.

“It wasn’t that much of a setback,” said Raiders slotback Lindel Merraro. “But the fact that Luke hasn’t really started a game, or much less really know the playbook, we were offset a little bit in regards to timing with his cadence and stuff like that.”

At moments in the game, Zetazate would hike the ball and Merraro would be well behind the line of scrimmage.

While the Raiders kept the Invaders close enough to give themselves a fighting chance, the Invaders scored five touchdowns in the second half.

Wright also had issues with “blatant” incorrect and missed calls by the referees.

“[In the first quarter] our receiver jumped for the ball. The ball landed nowhere near him; him and two other [defensive backs] jump for the same ball, but they call him for offensive pass interference,” said Wright.

“We had them on the ropes, we were pushing them back. Every time we pushed them back, the referees called blatant calls on us to move out of commission.”

The Raiders registered 10 penalties, which consistently kept the game on their side of the field.

Adding to the frustration, the Raiders dressed about half of the 60-man roster for the quarterfinal, as many players couldn’t find a way to get to the Ottawa game.

“We had guys in positions who weren’t used to playing there,” said Wright.

That includes Merraro, who filled in as a linebacker.

“I’m not used to going both ways, but with a team play, if I’m being called up to help out, I have no hesitations to do so,” he said.

The loss may have been disappointing, but the Raiders are thinking positively. When they had their full roster, they gelled. In their wins this season, they displayed potent offence and stingy defence.

“It was one of those years that it felt like it was going to be a turnaround season for us,” said Merraro, who has been playing organized football for nine years. “It was a lot more intensity in training and getting mentally prepared. It was looking promising.”

The Raiders were especially confident entering the playoffs. The week before, they beat the Sarnia Imperials 38–21 at their home field, Esther Shiner Stadium — avenging a 47–20 loss to Sarnia July 21.

“We were rolling, were winning games coming into the playoffs,” Wright said. “And we had it ready set to go.”