"RACINE RAIDERS EXTEND WIN STREAK TO 17 GAMES"

"Raiders Beat Madison Mustangs, 51-33, in Rivalry Renewed After Nearly 40 Years"

"July 14 (RACINE) - The Racine Raiders (3-0, 1-0 MSFL) extended the team's winning streak to 17 games against a team that is used to winning, the Madison Mustangs (0-1, 0-1 MSFL) in front of 1,458 fans at Historic Horlick Athletic Field in Racine Saturday night..

"The Mustangs won 54 straight games before losing in the Ironman Football League championship game last season and have now lost two straight for the first time since at least 2007. It was the first time the two franchises played since October 12, 1974, when Racine beat Madison using a second half comeback.

"The Raiders gave the Mustangs defense a heavy dose of running back J.R. Taylor early on and it paid off as Taylor had 12 carries for 116 yards and 3 touchdowns at the half and the Raiders led 21-6 going into the locker room.

"The teams combined to put up 41 points in the third quarter. Raiders quarterback Craig McClelland started to heat up in the second half, tossing three touchdowns to three different receivers in the third quarter.

"David Pietrowiak and the Mustangs kept pace, however, as Petrowiak also threw three touchdowns in the third quarter, including a 20-yard pass to Austin Ryan as the clock expired to pull Madison to within 16 points heading into the final quarter.

"The Raiders controlled the ball for nearly seven minutes to open the fourth quarter and got a 30-yard field goal from Joel DaPra to extend their lead 45-26.

"Racine would turn Pietrowiak's third interception of the game into another touchdown on a 9-yard run by Ivry Lashley, the rookie's first touchdown as a Raider, and increased lead to 25 points with 4:30 to play.

"Madison scored one more touchdown, this one a defensive touchdown. Raiders running back Floyd Underwood never got the handle on a handoff from McClelland and coughed it up right into the hands of Noah Williams who returned it 60 yards for a touchdown to make the final score 51-33 in favor of Racine.

"Pietrowiak set a Madison record with 381 yards passing. He threw for four touchdowns but also had three passes intercepted and lost a fumble. Taylor finished with 145 yards and the 3 touchdowns. McClelland threw for 176 yards and 3 touchdowns.

"The Raiders hit the road until August 7. They head to Williams Bay High School to play the Lake Geneva Generals next week. The Raiders are 3-0 all-time against Lake Geneva. The game will be broadcast on News/Talk 1400 AM WRJN beginning with the pregame show at 6:45 p.m. CT.

"The Racine Raiders, a 501c(3) not-for-profit organization, begin their 61st season of operations in 2013. The Raiders won their eighth national championship in 2012. Find out more about the Racine Raiders at http://www.racineraiders.com."