Raiders seek bounce-back at Battle Creek
9:00 a.m. Sept. 8, 2025
Jeff Reed Photography
Senior Chris Merical (23) had six carries for 16 yards – both season highs – against Goodpasture.
DUANE CROSS
MCO Publisher•Editor
The sting of last week’s 60–7 loss to Goodpasture Christian still lingers, but Moore County head coach Kris White insists the Raiders have already turned the page. With Battle Creek waiting on Friday, Sept. 12, the focus is on growth, improvement, and execution.
“Battle Creek has some athletes,” White said. “Their tailback is shifty but runs hard, and they’ve got good receivers. The quarterback gets it out of his hands quickly. We’ve just got to get better at us. We can’t worry about anybody else.”
That theme – sharpening Moore County’s own identity – has been central since White took over the program. The Raiders are still young in key spots, and White knows every week is a test of maturity. Against Goodpasture, that immaturity showed up in the form of poor leverage on defense and lapses in blocking assignments.
“We got exposed a little bit Friday on a leverage standpoint,” White explained. “If two and three splits are here, we’ve got to get on top of two so we can’t get pinned. If they throw a bubble, we need to make them cut back to the other nine coming instead of leaving just one out there.”
White’s solution isn’t reinventing the playbook – it’s repetition and accountability. The Raiders spent this week emphasizing positioning in the secondary, sharper reads from linebackers, and finishing plays with pursuit. “I preach every snap, all 11 to the ball,” White said. “But it’s not just a coaching point. It has to come from within – that desire to make a play and not depend on someone else to do it.”
The stats back up the buy-in. Through three games, five Raiders have already recorded 10 or more tackles, and three more have eight or nine. That defensive swarm, if harnessed correctly, could help
slow Battle Creek’s quick-strike offense.
On the other side of the ball, White expects continued development from quarterback Isaac Petty, who is steadily growing into the leadership role. Petty has spent extra time watching film and seeking advice from former Raider quarterback Dawson White. “He was a lot more focused and detail-oriented in practice last week,” White said. “That’s what it takes to be the guy on Friday nights.”
Others have stepped up as well. Luke Stevens took on an expanded role against Goodpasture, playing both wide receiver and linebacker. White called his performance a sign of what’s possible when players buy into doing whatever the team needs.
The message heading into Battle Creek is simple: learn from the past, but don’t live in it. “We’ll touch on Friday’s game [Monday] at lunch, then it’s done,” White said.
“After that, it’s all Battle Creek.”
