East Ridge football: Raptors battle powerhouse Cretin-Derham Hall, but fall in opener

The East Ridge football team kept pace with one of the state’s top teams in its 2012 season opener, but Cretin-Derham Hall’s firepower was too much in the end.

East Ridge fell 34-24 to Cretin-Derham Hall on Thursday, Aug. 30, at East Ridge High School.

Cretin-Derham Hall did its most of its damage in the second and third quarters. After grabbing a 21-10 lead with a touchdown as time expired in the first half, the Raiders scored twice in the third quarter to go up 34-10, blowing the game open.

East Ridge held leads of 3-0 and 10-7 in the first half, however. After forcing Cretin-Derham Hall to punt on its first possession, East Ridge marched the ball down the field and kicked a field goal for an early 3-0 lead. After Cretin-Derham Hall scored the game’s first touchdown to take a 7-3 lead, East Ridge freshman quarterback Seth Green connected with junior wide receiver Xavier Cole on an 81-yard catch and run to put the Raptors up 10-7 with 11:34 remaining in the first half.

It was the first pass thrown by Green in a Raptors uniform. Green transferred from Hill-Murray this summer. He was 6-for-15 passing for 174 yards and a touchdown in the game. East Ridge junior running back Nick Leach led the Raptors’ offense with 20 carries for 73 yards and two touchdowns.

Next week, East Ridge travels to Forest Lake on Friday, Sept. 7, to take on the Rangers. Forest Lake got walloped by Park 47-12 on Thursday in their season opener.

See the full story and additional photos in the Sept. 5 issue of the Bulletin

Tags: east ridge, sports, football, raptors, prep, updates