American Youth Football (AYF) is back in the town of Bridgeville, and the Woodbridge Raiders 12U team is getting familiar with new Head Coach Nate McCullen, who came into the position just a few days ago. McCullen, however, is not new to the team, as he has been the Defensive Coordinator for the past two years.

On Saturday, Aug. 22, the Raiders played host to the Washington D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation Trojans. The first game of the season was played at the Filmore Clifton Stadium in Bridgeville, and Woodbridge walked off the field with a 30-6 victory.

While conducting the team warm-up drills before the game, Coach McCullen was philosophical with his comments. “It feels good being head coach. My primary goal is to give these young men a positive role model to follow, and to teach them life skills through football….like teamwork, communication, problem solving, leadership, integrity, and sportsmanship. Teaching them sports is ok, but excelling in the classroom, making good decisions, and helping them to become productive citizens in this community is more important.”

The Raiders scored two running touchdowns in the first quarter. The first, after the defense caused a fumble, speedy running back Kei’Rell Cannon outran several Trojans defenders to the end zone. The 30-yard run was the Raiders’ first touchdown of the season. Quarterback Loghan Vann completed the two-point conversion, making the score 8-0. 

On the ensuing kick-off, the Trojans recovered their own fumble and raced to the end zone to score their only touchdown of the game, making the score 8-6. Their two-point conversion failed. 

Woodbridge wasted little time, as running back Alexander Conway scored the Raiders’ second running touchdown of the game. Vann was successful with the two-point conversion, making the score 16-6. The Raiders would add another touchdown in the second quarter on a short run by Conway. 

In the third quarter, Cannon got loose again and raced 30 yards for his second touchdown of the game. The two point-conversion was unsuccessful, making the score 30-6. During the next Raiders kick off, and after a tackle, the two teams engaged in a brief skirmish. At that time, the referees huddled for a decision, and decided to end the game to prevent any further physical exchanges between the two teams.