(Photo gallery courtesy of Shawn Healy Photography)
SPENCER, W.Va. — Roane County scored touchdowns on their first seven possessions in a 53-21 win over Buffalo, giving Paul Burdette his 100th victory in 16 seasons as the head coach of the Raiders.
“I have been very blessed with a lot of young men that have bought into what I’ve wanted them to do,” Burdette said. “I give the credit to them because they come out here and work and give themselves to us every day and believe in what we ask them to do and go out and do it without any question. But it is huge. This feels pretty special tonight.”
The Raiders had six different players find the end zone in a game where the Raiders jumped out to a 41-0 halftime lead before inserting younger players into the lineup in the second half. Koltyn Starcher (86 yards), Javon Latourneau (72 yards) and Brodey Proctor (31 yards) each contributed to Roane’s 328-yard rushing effort. Latourneau rushed for two scores and reeled in a touchdown pass to open the scoring.
“We try to spread the ball around as much as we can. We get people biting on the run and then we bring the pass into the game. We don’t pass a lot. But when we do, it has been pretty efficient the last couple games and in the scrimmages this summer. As many people as we can get involved in the game and get the ball in their hands, that’s more people have to prepare for as we move forward.”
Roane County quarterback Brennen Carpenter completed 4-of-5 passes for 105 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He has connected on 7-of-8 pass attempts this season.
“We just evaluate play-to-play. When we see an opening that we think we can get the ball into, then we call the play. He has been very good with the ball. Just one incompletion, he has been very, very efficient and he has done a good job getting the ball where it needs to be.”
Roane (2-0) will face their local rivals from Clay County in Week 3.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do. Clay is a good football team. They beat Midland Trail pretty handily last week. It is not going to be an easy task. It is never an easy task. It is a rival and we go at it every year. We’re just excited to have the opportunity and excited to be healthy going into it.”
Jacob Cossin scored two touchdowns for Buffalo (0-2) on a 72-yard kickoff return and a 39-yard pass from Grant Weaver. Weaver added a 39-yard rushing touchdown to cap the scoring for the Bison.