On the fast track!

It’s been a wild and crazy last few weeks. The Laurens Raiders completed their best season in football since the 1991 State Championship season when they completed the 2008 season 11-3.

There is a laundry list of positives that Raider Fans may take away from this season.

Greg Lawson has gotten the foundation built on what appears to be a long and prosperous resurgence of Raider football.

This season saw a Raider player selected to the Shrine Bowl, two garner North/South recognition and six players filled seven slots on the All-Region team.

Add to that, that a Raider was named the Laurens County TD Club player of the year and indeed this season was special.

Even more special are the prospects for the future. The depth that was built this season will prove to be vital in the coming seasons.

When you look on both sides of the ball there is a lot of experience coming back. The offensive line will return four players who at one time or another started this season.

The skill positions will see both starting running backs return while several key players from a JV squad that finished 9-1 will join Zak O’Bryant at wide receiver.

The defense returns a defensive line manned by three players who started multiple games.

The same is true at linebacker, anchored by Hunter Smith. While the secondary will miss the names, Cromer, Cain, and Cunningham, Coach Hawk was wise and planned for the future rotating several underclassmen in throughout the season.

Ruben Perez returns to anchor the kicking chores. The big question mark will be the quarterback position, or will it?

Don’t get me wrong, Logan Hall’s absence will surely be felt, but with Kevin Johnson and B.J. Moses along with Allen Staton hitting the weight room and having a full spring practice and a summer to battle I think the Raiders will see one of the three rise to the top to grab the job.

There are a lot of decisions to be made for sure, but one thing is certain, these Raiders are definitely moving forward in the right direction.

And a HUGE shout-out to the fans that made the Raiders run through the playoffs so special.

The noise in the stands was tremendous and the text messages and emails we received during the games were something to behold.

I hope you are as excited as I am on what the future holds for Laurens Raider football.

To the players, I issue you this challenge…work twice as hard THIS off-season as you did the last because you won’t be able to sneak up on anyone.

To take the next step, it will require sacrifice, dedication and a ton of hard work.

I look forward to watching every single play.