MidValleySports.Com

By Tim Peterson

“The Autumn Wind is a Raider,
Pillaging just for fun.
He’ll knock you ’round and upside down,
And laugh when he’s conquered and won.” – Excerpts of a poem adapted by Stave Sabol and narrated by John Facenda.

Something is going on at Rowland. The Raiders were done Friday night. Cooked. Toast. They were down by two scores (21-8) to Diamond Bar with just over 7 minutes left. It was all over except for the postgame handshakes. Until it wasn’t.

“We’re like Freddy Krueger. We ain’t going away,” said Rowland head coach Cito Marinez after the game.

Rowland marched 64 yards down the field on 9 plays. Jose Valadez completed the drive with a 16-yard touchdown strike to Bryce Johnson and with the extra point it was 21-15 with 3:36 left.

“They made the mistake. They kept us in it,” Marinez.

But Rowland was still down by six. Diamond Bar was going to get the ball back with a chance to burn the clock out. The Raiders were done. Until they weren’t.

Taylor Wright, who had not been kicking extra points, was called on to make a different kick. One of the onside variety. He did it to perfection. He got the bounce and Rowland got the recovery and just like that the Raiders were 44 yards away from glory.

“This goes back to the summer. Us spending a day, every day a week dedicated to special teams, having a real plan. We have a great kicker who’s a soccer kid. That’s all he does for us. He comes every single day and that’s Taylor Wright. He does his kicks on the side while the rest of the guys are practicing. And when we needed him he stepped up.” – Marinez.

However the job wasn’t finished. Rowland still needed to go 44 yards. The Raiders fumbled on their first two possessions of the game and had 3 turnovers in the contest. They were down 15-0 at halftime. Now they needed to go 44 yards with their backs against the wall. A field goal wouldn’t help. The Raiders needed to cross the goal line.

“You better kill us. You better kill us. We’re going to keep coming back. Championship attitude, championship mindset, we keep marching in.” – Marinez.

Marched they did – 44 yards on just 5 plays. CJ Carillo hit the end zone on a short blast. Aidan Opatkiewicz booted the extra point and it had happened. The Raiders were up 22-21 with 35 seconds left. Yes, they still needed to stop Diamond Bar. But that was almost a formality. Victory was Rowland’s destiny on this night. The Raiders made the stops and Diamond Bar ran out of time. The celebration ensued from the players to the fans that packed the stadium at Rowland High School.

“Now you got the confidence. If you’re down 15-0 or down two scores we can come back. You guys understand that?” – Marinez.

The win Friday night, as remarkable as it was, was just a part of a memorable season thus far for Rowland. Don’t look now but the Raiders are 5-0. They routed their first two opponents before heading into Walnut for Week 3. Several area football pundits liked Walnut. The Mustangs had won their first three games and were a team on the rise. Rowland had no shot. No shot? No problem. The Raiders rolled 28-7. They went on to a big win over Nogales the following week before finding some magic against Diamond Bar.

“When you’re winning football games you have to win them in many different ways and different styles. And it just shows the heart that this team has.” – Marinez

Winning football games in many different ways. Yes, this was different all right. The 2025 Raiders are different. Something is going on at Rowland.

That’s my principle.

Tim Peterson can be reached at tim.midvalleysports@gmail.com or on Twitter (X) @tspeterson40. Facebook – Tim Peterson

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