The Raiders’ offense is good. Really good. This is nothing new.
Ernie Howren has all but perfected Reed’s spread offense and defensive coordinators in Northern Nevada are paying for it. The Blue and Gold offense looks effortless.
Run by defending DI North Offensive Player of the Year, senior quarterback Matt Denn, the Raiders scored 44 points in a season-opening win against Carson and dropped 59 on Damonte Ranch last Friday, including taking a knee inside the Mustangs’ 10-yard line at the end of the game.
Denn accounted for 433 yards of total offense alone in the win over Carson, the second-highest single-game total in DI state history. Robert Thomas (Bonanza) set the record of 536 yards in 1996 against Silverado.
But this could be one of the best offenses not only in Reed program history. It could be one of the best in state history.
Granted, the prep football season is only two weeks old so the sample size is small, but the Raiders on a scary (for defensive coordinators) pace. In its two wins, Reed has complied 103 points and 1,240 yards of offense. By comparison, Galena, Reed’s opponent on Friday, has scored 14 points and gained 468 yards.
Considering just the regular season (10 games), Reed is on pace to score 515 points. That total would put the Raiders in a tie for 13th place in DI state history. They’re also on pace to amass 6,200 total yards of offense. That number alone would put them in second place in state history.
The current pace is insane and it’s unfair (although not unrealistic) to expect similar numbers over the rest of the regular season. That’s to say, it would take an epic collapse for the Raiders not to make the playoffs.
If Reed wins its sixth-straight regional title this fall and advances to the state tournament (where Bishop Gorman would be in all likelihood waiting in the semifinals), it would play 14 games.
At the Raiders’ current pace, playing 14 games, they would score 721 points and cover a staggering 8,680 yards, or just shy of five miles. The 721 points would be third in state history behind the 2011 Bishop Gorman team (830 points in 16 games) and the 2012 Gaels (777 points in 14 games). The yards however, would be a new DI state record—by 2,364 yards.
The current record holder? Reed’s 2013 squad that covered 6,316 yards.
The offense is going to light up the scoreboard. If the defense can prevent opponents from doing the same (Reed has allowed 66 points this season and nearly gave up 500 yards against Carson), look out.
You’ve been warned, history books.
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