John I. Burton Raiders Football 2015: Season overview

The Raiders' season started off with a bang, but the odds were not in their favor, as they were handed the first loss of the season on opening night to the undefeated Union Bears. The stadium was packed for the game, but what the fans got was a taste of defeat, as the Bears stomped the Raiders, 52-6. Many thought after this loss that the Raiders would have a struggle gathering wins and making it into the playoffs.  Contrary to the negativity among the fans, the Raiders won the remaining nine regular season games, including beating the 2A school Lee High Generals, 28-15, and stomping the powerhouse Honaker Tigers, 28-0.

The Raiders became Cumberland District Champions, and were the second ranked team in Virginia, in the 1A west division. In the first round of the playoffs the Raiders hosted a Saturday evening game against the Covington Cougars. The Raiders also came out on top in this game with a final score of 45-16. The following week, in the second round of the playoffs, the Raiders hosted a Friday night game against the Rural Retreat Indians, Burton once again came out with the win, 28-6. The Raiders looked as if they might make it to the state championship game, as they had now won 11 straight games since the loss to Union. It was time for the third round of the playoffs, and the Raiders hosted another Saturday evening game against the Galax Maroon Tide. Galax's Charles Harris and Caleb Spurlin were ready to bring on a fight against the Raiders. That is exactly what they did, as they stomped the Raiders, 35-12, bringing the Raiders' miracle season to a sad conclusion.

When speaking with three members of the football team, all of which are underclassmen, the three players were all asked the same questions about the season. When asked about the overview of the season, Taylor Mullins responded by saying,"It was a great season. After the loss to Union we were doing great, but we were just unable to finish the way we wanted to." Many of the other players agree with Taylor about being unable to finish the way they wanted to. Taylor's highlight of the season was making it to the third round of the playoffs.  Freshman, Tyree Bolling, said that the season was great, but he was upset with the way it ended. Tyree also stated that the funnest game for him was the Unaka game, because he was able to play the whole game and had a big hit to save a first down conversion. When speaking to a third football player and sophomore, Ethan Cates, he thought the highlight of the season was winning the district championship, after losing it the previous season.

According to these players, the Raiders were very successful. The Raiders will be a young team next season, as many senior athletes will be graduating in the spring.In the backfield, they will be starting three freshmen, and one sophomore. Good luck to the Raiders next season.

Written By: Austin Lane