OVFL: Varsity Raiders looking for quick turnaround with double header on the horizon

The Markham Raiders fell 14-7 to the Pickering Dolphins over the weekend to fall to 1-2 on the season.

“If there was a bottom line, penalties just killed us,” said Head Coach Anthony Tombler. “We must have had about 150 yards in penalties and a touchdown called back.”

Tombler said there’s no way to understand what caused the outburst in penalties, but the team understands that better discipline is a must for the future.

“We got too aggressive,” he said. “We were a bit overconfident and didn’t realize we had to go in and fight as hard as we needed to.”

The Raiders were coming off their first win of the season in Week 3 against the Kingston Grenadiers. Early in this game however, a top receiver went down and the passing game got rattled. Markham gained only 46 yards through the air on Saturday.

“We’ve got strong run game and our offensive line is one of the best in the league, we put a lot of faith in those guys,” said Tombler. “But we can’t be one dimensional, and our team needs to establish a run-pass balance this year.”

Despite the poor passing game, the Raiders gained 172 yards on the ground and ran for a touchdown.

The Raiders have no time to hang their heads however. Tuesday night, they will play a makeup game against the Oshawa Hawkeyes from their Week 2 rainout, followed by another game this weekend in Halton.

“We showed in Kingston that we can play some great football,” said Tombler. “Ultimately our team had a big turning point then, developed an attitude and we just have to find that again this week.”

The Raiders defence continues to lead the way. They’ve allowed just one touchdown in the past two games and have found away to eliminate the deep threat on most occasions over the past two games.

“Our defence has been outstanding,” said Tombler. “We’ve been really tight, we’re showing great balance, and there is a lot of heart in those linebackers.”

Tombler said the key to surviving three games in the span of 8 days is to control the game and keep doing what the team does best.

“The offence has to get back to the balance and control the ball more, and my defence has to show up again” he said. “When there’s not a lot of practice time, it comes down to quick adjustments on the field.”