Raptors Down Crusaders, 50-6

May 11, 2024 Greg Ricupero

The Berks County Raptors (2-5) came to Indiana today to play the host Indiana County Crusaders (0-6).

The Raptors won their first game of the season last week and were hoping to build on that. The sun was out when I got there but started to rain just before the game started and rained on the Crusaders all day. The Raptors offense started slowly but finally got it going by the second half. The Crusaders offense never got started.

The first quarter was a defense of struggle. Both teams struggled to throw the ball but the Raptors slowly gained field position with a slightly better running attack. They were finally able to punch it into the end zone late in the quarter and would never trail. The Crusaders offense really put their defense in a bad situation. The fumbled the ball more times than they completed a pass for the game.

The Raptors would score two touchdowns in each of the final three quarters as the Crusader defense worn down. Indiana would use a series of defensive penalties against Berks County to score their only touchdown in the third quarter. Neither team was able to provide a roster and the Raptors didn’t have their names on their uniforms. The Crusaders touchdown came on a Rowland to Kinney pass. The road the rest of the way is going in the same direction as the teams. The Raptors play only one more team with a winning record. The Crusaders play only one team with a losing record.

The first season for Indiana is going as expected, rough. However the team remained upbeat and were picking up their teammates to the very end. The Crusaders and build on this loss but will need to find some offense to complete. The defense gave up 50 points but with the offense throwing 3 or 4 incompletions per series. They gave the Raptors way too many chances. The Crusaders play two road games before ending the season with two home games. Hopefully the offense and the sun will come out in the next few weeks.