While O’Neill varsity football coach Dave Moskowitz noted after the September 21 loss to Spackenkill that his team had “improved greatly from the previous week”, that improvement wasn’t enough to carry the Raiders to a win over Monticello on September 28.

Monticello won the game 20-6; it was played on the Waldo Wood Field at O’Neill.

“This is a young, inexperienced team that will have growing pains,” Moskowitz said. “They gave great effort. But, Monticello was coming off a big win against Liberty, and they are very athletic.”

It didn’t help the Raiders that injuries started piling up. Quarterback Mathias Williams, who scored the team’s only points, in the second quarter, on a 16-yard run, went down with a sprained ankle in the second half. AJ Mackey came into the game as quarterback at that point, throwing 85 yards on eight passes. Camryn Williams was his main target, picking up 62 receiving yards. Trey Murphy rushed for 48 yards.

For O’Neill, David Prosperie and Ames Janetta each had interceptions. However, O’Neill had five turnovers of their own – two fumbles and an interception.

The loss takes the Raiders to a 0-3 record. Monticello left the game with a 2-2 record.

O’Neill will take on Chester at 3 p.m. on Saturday at Chester Commons Park.