Eastman Raiders

The Eastman Raiders are a midget to youth football club that is located in Steinbach, Manitoba. The Eastman Raiders football club is a member of the Midget Football League of Manitoba and the Manitoba Minor Football Association. With the Eastman Raiders football club being formed in 1991, the club is now host to over 260 athletes ranging from 7 to 22 year olds.

The Raiders regularly compete against the St.Vital Mustangs, North Winnipeg Nomads, St.James Rods, Transcona Nationals, Fort Garry Lions, Eastside Eagles, Greendell Falcons, Crescentwood Grizzlies, Charleswood Broncos, Portage la Prairie Pitbulls, La Salle Lightning, Valour Patriots, Interlake Thunder and Pembina Valley Cornhuskers.

Field Location

Since 1991, the Eastman Raiders have called AD Penner Park their home. Over the Raiders 21 years, they have developed their home field adding bleachers, canteens, team clubhouses and the most recent addition, an electronic scoreboard.

2009 Midget Season

In 2009 the Eastman Raiders Midget team finished their season with a 7-1 record. Currently that record stands as the best single season record in Midget Raiders history. Following the 2009 regular season, the Raiders defeated the North Winnipeg Nomads in the MFLM Semi-Finals 38-14, then went on to defeat the St.Vital Mustangs in the MFLM Championship Game by a score of 21-9. Raiders Quarterback Kelly Sansregret was named the Offensive Player of the Game. The 2009 Provincial Championship was the first championship in Raiders history at any level. Prior to 2009, the only other appearance in the MFLM Championship Game by the Raiders was in 2003 when the Raiders ultimately lost to the Fort Garry Lions.

2012 Midget Season

In 2012 the Eastman Raiders Midget team finished their season with a 7-1 record, matching the 2009 Raiders for the best single season record in Midget Raiders history. Due to a new playoff format adopted in 2010, the Eastman Raiders Midget team earned a bye in the MFLM Quarter-Finals round, having finished 2nd in the league. The Raiders would go onto the MFLM Semi-Finals, defeating the St.Vital Mustangs 21-7. The Raiders advanced to the MFLM Provincial Championship, the third time in Raiders Midget history, and the second in appearance in four seasons. The Raiders however would lose to the North Winnipeg Nomads 42-21. The Eastman Raiders Midget program in years past had been known to be an inconsistent and struggled through most of the late 1990s and early 2000s. However since the 2009 season, the Raiders Midget team has a combined regular season record of 24-8 over those four seasons, becoming one of the prominent teams in the MFLM.

2012 Regular Season Success

In 2012 the Eastman Raiders saw their program complete one of its most successful seasons on the football field. Out of the 6 teams the Raiders fielded in 2012 that could have qualified for playoffs, only one team fell short. 5 of the 6 teams made the playoffs, a club record for total amount of teams in playoff games. Three teams advanced to the Semi-Finals of their divisions (one of the two Atom teams that made the playoffs, the Pee Wee team, and the Bantam team) but were defeated in those semi-final games. The Midget team advanced to MFLM Provincial Championship game but lost in the final to the North Winnipeg Nomads. Even though no team won their division, 2012 marked the most teams to qualify for the playoffs (5), and the most teams to participate in a Semi-Finals game (4).

References

External links

• www.eastmanraiders.com
• www.midgetfootball.ca
• www.footballmanitoba.com