Coffeyville (1-2; 1-1 conf.) 35 Butler (1-1; 1-1 conf.) 32

The Red Ravens hosted conference rival Butler Community College Saturday September 9.  Coming into the game, the Red Ravens were 0-2 and counted out to even have a chance in the game.  Many predictions had the Butler Grizzlies winning easily.  However, the Red Ravens had different plans.

Missing starting quarterback Mo Hasan, the Red Ravens would have to figure a way to overcome 190 yards per game.  The answer; defense.  The Red Ravens defense was stifling throughout the entire game.  Making play after play.  The tempo and style of the game was established early on a hard hit in the backfield by sophomore linebacker, Vernon Dasher.  From that moment, the defense made their presence felt.  

 On the game, the defense had 3 sacks for a loss of 16 yards.  Dasher wasn't the only one leaving his mark.  Red Shirt Sophomore Marcus Scott had an outstanding game.  On the game Scott had 3 tackles, a forced fumble, 2 fumble recoveries for 69 yards, and 2 quarterback hurries.  One of his fumble recoveries came from pure heart and strength as he ripped the ball out of the arms of the Butler offensive player.

Not to be overlooked, kicker Cooper Lee had a professional night as well.  Lee played a pivitol role in yardage for the Red Ravens.  In 9 punts, Lee pinned the Grizzlies inside their own 20 seven times, with 5 fair catches, while totaling 395 yards.  

Without Hasan, the Red Ravens turned to true freshman quarterback Jack Diamond.  Diamond proved to have the leadership capabilites as he poised himself in his first career collegiate start.  Diamond went 12-20, 122 yards, 2 touchdowns, and no interceptions.  Diamond also added 16 yards on the ground to his impressive start.

With defense being the key to the Red Ravens victory, a major factor to their success was the time of possession for the Red Ravens.  The Red Ravens held on to the ball for a total of 31:53; which included almost a 9 minute second quarter total time.  With the offense handling the ball with that amount of time, allowed the defense to keep their legs fresh.

This was the first home victory over Butler since September 1997 (35-7).

This game also accounted for head coach Jeff Leiker's first career victory over Butler; previously 0-12.

The Red Ravnes next game is Saturday, September 26th at 7:00pm against Iowa Central, at Veterans Memorial Stadium.