In football, preparation is key. From the moment you know the team that you’re facing to the moment you kick off. But what about when it all falls apart, when your game falls through and you’re left scrambling for another opponent? That's what happened to the 4A Lumberton Raiders, who had only 30 hours to prepare against an opponent who made a deep playoff run last year. And a first year head coach. And a new scheme.
And won.
As soon as Lumberton head coach James Reyes got the news that he needed a game, he immediately got to work. He sent word out on Twitter that he needed a new opponent for Week 1. Reyes did not care about who his team was gonna play, all he knew was that he was gonna make sure that his kids were gonna play a game.
“Our kids have worked too hard, since August 2nd and during scrimmages, to not be able to play the first week,” he said. “I didn’t care who we played, I just wanted our kids to play.”
The Columbus Cardinals were the ones to answer the call (with an assist from our very own Matt Stepp). Although facing off against a team that has made deep playoff runs the past two years wasn’t the coaching debut Reyes expected, he fulfilled his promise that the Raiders would have a Week 1 game. As fast as the game was scheduled, both coaches sent over their scrimmage film and went to work on a game plan. Reyes had 30 hours to get his team ready for a state contender. That afternoon he got his players together and informed them that they would have a new opponent and that they would need to change things up.
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