For the second season in a row, the Raider football team reached the playoffs, but their season ended with a 41-35 loss to Merced last Friday.

Despite the Raiders gaining 69 more yards, the Bears edged them out to end the Raiders postseason hopes. Although the 10th-seed team will end the season 5-6, Friday’s game saw the Raiders’ most rushing yards in a single game since last season began, with 325.

Junior Raymar Griffith scored a touchdown and rushed 192 yards while senior Keegan Leary rushed 59 yards with a touchdown.

The players said they feel the team has been improving the last several years and the hope is to make the playoffs again next season.

This was head coach Bob Ghazanfari’s first season at the helm.

“‘What I spent I had, what I kept I lost,’ which impacted me a lot to put 110% into everything I do and leave it all out there on the field with nothing to regret,” tight end and outside linebacker Alex Wallace said of the most important lesson he learned from Ghazanfari.

Wallace was this year’s senior captain and said he “took a lot of pride in that role” considering some of the players’ lack of previous varsity experience.

The team’s connection and discipline was also clear throughout the season, players said.

“I feel like the team bonding that we did made us a stronger and better team,” quarterback Arnez Campbell said. “My favorite game this season was against Vista Del Lago because it was an exciting game. Both teams kept scoring back to back which kept players, coaches and fans on their feet.”