Raving About the Raiders

Mrs. Smith

Mrs. Smith

Teyo Johnson and the Raiders media team prepares for a swarm of fans to enter the game

Kale Nelson, Editor in Chief
January 24, 2022

As this year’s football season comes to an end for the Las Vegas Raiders who exited the playoffs just this weekend, the flag football season only seems to be getting stronger for Shadow Ridge High School. The 13-2 Mustangs have been receiving support all year long from the NFL through the Raider’s staff. Retired Raider, Teyo Johnson, accompanied by the Raiderettes, attended the flag football game on January 13th and helped to get as many people out to the game as possible. They did a phenomenal job raising the spirits of the crowds and keeping everybody engaged.

The Raiders, however, do so much more for flag football than what can be seen on the surface. Reaching out to the Shadow Ridge community, they have not only recognized flag football and the hard-working individuals involved, they have also recognized and filled the need for new equipment, gear, and support in the programs.

Coach Nighswonger, the dedicated coach of the Shadow Ridge Varsity Flag Football Team, shared that, “The Raiders have been awesome with flag football. I really can’t overstate how much they’ve supported it. Valley-wide, they hosted our All-Star game last year and they plan to do it again this year. We got money from the NFL dispersed through the Raiders to support flag football. The NFL is behind a drive to get flag football at the collegiate level as well.”

With the NFL and the Raiders supporting flag football all across the valley, one might think they’d be a little preoccupied. However, the Raiders have reached out personally and individually specifically to Shadow Ridge, even presenting Nighswonger with a check for having won their Tom Flores Coach of the Week Award.

“I was thrilled when Nighswonger received the Coach of the Week Award from the Raiders because I feel like he deserves it. He does his best to be supportive of the girls and he makes an effort to publicize the sport to the school and community,” Audrey Gadeski, senior, explained.

The varisty flag team at their game on January 13th (Mrs. Smith)

The flag football girls love the extra publicity, and can feel the difference that the Raiders are making to the program.

Senior, Mikayla Brown, said, “Because the Raiders were at our game, it brought more fans in to watch. It was awesome and made me more hyped,” and Nighswonger added, “I felt like the girls were just a little more excited and had a little bit more energy that night. We’ve been performing well this year but that gave a little bit of extra enthusiasm with them being there.”

Being extra amped up from the hype of the Raiders, the girls put on a great show in their game, taking down the Bonanza Bengals in a 40-7 win. They look forward to continuing the season and closing it out strong, and the whole program is extremely grateful for what the Raiders have contributed to their success this year.