BAMBERG, S.C. — Kevin Crosby’s first season leading the Bamberg-Ehrhardt football team turned into a bit of a roller-coaster ride.

His Red Raiders took their first five contests before falling to Calhoun County at home. Back-to-back region road losses to Allendale-Fairfax and Estill left the team fighting to keep its playoff dreams alive with one week left in the regular season and a date against county rival Denmark-Olar.

Any questions raised about how B-E would bounce back from those critical defeats were answered soundly when the Red Raiders blew out the Vikings 48-6 and entered the playoffs as the Upper State’s fifth seed.

Wins on the road over Lewisville and top-seeded Calhoun County earned the Red Raiders a spot in the Upper State final against defending Class A Division I champion Chesterfield.

For the second straight year, the Golden Rams and their blistering speed on both sides of the ball proved to be too much on that frigid Friday night in November. On the following Monday, the 2009 season began for the Red Raiders.

“Our kids knew that once the game was over with last year on that Friday night,” Crosby said, “that Monday morning, they were knocking the doors down to start getting back in the weight room and getting prepared. They said, ‘Coach, we’ve got to continue to work. We’ve got to get better and we’ve got to start now.’ That was a good thing and we’ve built off of it during the offseason.”

Now, the Red Raiders are focused on this year as they attempt to make a run at a state title.

Bamberg-Ehrhardt lost nine seniors from last year’s squad, but only four of the nine had to be replaced. Junior Randon Sandifer (6-0, 180) will be taking over the duties at quarterback, replacing Zack Godley in an offense that will be predominantly run from the wishbone formation.

B-E will have the luxury of having junior running back Demetrius Williams (5-9, 175) in the backfield. Lining up at wide receiver for the Red Raiders will be senior Desmond Kelly (6-3, 195) and junior Carl Williams (5-10, 185).

University of South Carolina commit and Under Armour All-AmericanA.J. Cann (6-3, 275), along with junior Zack Kemp (5-10 1/2, 185), will lead the Red Raiders’ offensive line.

“We’re very solid up front and we’ve got about five or six running backs,” Crosby said. “One of them is a freshman. We’re okay with our backs. Randon’s got plenty experience from playing last year because he started about half of the games last season anyway.”

Defensively, it all starts up front for the Red Raiders. Cann and University of Kentucky commit Justin Henderson (6-3, 245) will lead the fight in the trenches for B-E’s defensive line. Junior Javonte Middleton (5-10, 215) will lead an experienced linebacker corps consisting of Kemp and junior Xavier Hannibal (5-10, 190). In the secondary for B-E will be Kelly and juniors Carl (5-11, 175) and Demetrius Williams (5-10, 175).

“We always go in telling our guys that our O-line and our D-line have to control things up front,” Crosby said. “If you can win the battle in the trenches, then you’ve got a chance of winning ball games. Our linebackers are going to be tough. We’ve got them all back from last year. They played a lot from last year. We were suspect in our secondary last year and I knew that. The later we got into the season, a lot of people saw our youth. Now, they’re seasoned and they worked hard during 7-on-7s this summer to get better. I think they’ll be all right over there also.”

The Red Raiders have a large number of juniors on the team. However, B-E has a bit of youth and experience on its side because of that.

“We have 27 juniors on this team that were sophomores last year and they played,” Crosby said. “Last year, we built our team around our sophomores. Our sophomores stepped up to the plate and they played. So we’re not young. In a way, you are when you have that many juniors, but we’re seasoned because they played a lot last year.

“We’re preaching consistency and not making excuses,” Crosby said. “We have a no-excuse policy. That’s one of our mottos. We want to be consistent and we don’t want to make excuses for what we do.”

The loss to Chesterfield last season may not be something the Red Raiders constantly dwell on, but one thing is definitely certain, B-E is looking to improve on its performance.

“Our ultimate goal is to finish out strong, to give ourselves a chance to win the region title and make ourselves get a higher seed in the playoffs,” Crosby said. “We always preach to our kids that the playoffs are what you want to reach. Just get there. It doesn’t matter what you are when you get there. It doesn’t matter if you’re an eight seed, seventh seed, sixth seed, or No. 1. You’ve got to get there and then it’s a new season.”

Schedule

• 8/21 at Edisto

• 8/28 vs. Ashley Ridge

• 9/11 at Barnwell

• 9/18 vs. Branchville

• 9/25 vs. Military Magnet

• 10/2 at Calhoun County

• 10/9 at Bethune-Bowman

• 10/16 vs. Allendale-Fairfax

• 10/23 vs. Estill

• 10/30 vs. Denmark-Olar

All games scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

(Offense) Demetrius Williams, Junior, RB/DB: With over 1,400 yards rushing last year, Williams has shown that he is a fast, explosive young runner. He looks to improve on his numbers in the Red Raiders Wishbone attack.

(Defense) A.J. Cann, Senior, OL/DL: A.J. may have been recruited as an offensive lineman by the University of South Carolina, but his play this season on the defensive line will set the tone for the Red Raiders. Cann is a force inside, recording 64 tackles, 22 for loss and 14 sacks a season ago.

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