- The Santa Fe Raiders defeated cross-county rival Newberry 30-16, marking their first win over the Panthers since 2019.
- Running back Jasiah Powell rushed nearly 150 yards and scored two touchdowns in the season opener.
- Newberry struggled with turnovers and limited practice time due to heat and weather, impacting their performance in the game.
The Santa Fe Raiders opened the 2026 season on Friday with a 30-16 win over cross-county rival Newberry, marking the program’s first win over the Panthers since 2019.
The win also gave head coach Earnest Graham his second straight 1-0 start as he begins his second season leading the program.
“It felt good,” Graham said. “I’m really proud of the boys. They were resilient tonight.”
Running back Jasiah Powell rushed for nearly 150 yards and two touchdowns, while kicker Mayer Steen drilled three field goals to provide support.
Steen opened the game with his 28-yard field goal before Newberry’s Kaiden Bush drilled a 37-yard field goal to tie the game with 5:35 left in the first quarter. That would be the closest Newberry would come to a win.
After Santa Fe fumbled on the ensuing kickoff, a botched snap on a Newberry punt gave the Raiders the ball on the 27-yard line, leading to Steen’s 42-yard field goal to take a 6-3 lead near the end of the first quarter. Newberry threw an interception on the first play of its next possession, setting up Powell’s first touchdown of the game — a four-yard run to open the second quarter that gave Santa Fe a 13-3 lead.
“We keep saying we have the most imposing back in North Florida,” Graham said. “We really do… Jasiah makes it really tough for us to be beat night in and night out.”
Newberry, alternating quarterbacks Kieran Whitesides, Zaden Wilcox, and Zach Chong-You, found success running the ball with Wilcox, who scored on a four-yard run to make it 13-10 midway through the second quarter. However, a fumble on their next possession led to Powell’s second touchdown of the night on a one-yard run with 2:37 left in the half.
Newberry answered to open the second half when Keyondre Williams scored on a 61-yard screen pass from Whitesides, but it was the Panthers’ final points of the night.
Santa Fe quarterback Gavin Peterson hit Tison Thomas for an 11-yard touchdown to give the Raiders a 27-16 lead with 4:21 left in the third quarter, and Steen added a 23-yard field goal with 5:45 left in the game to finalize the scoring.
Newberry turned the ball over on three of its five possessions in the second half, while the Panthers battled injuries and cramping for most of the game. Johnson attributed this to a lack of practice time, saying the heat and poor weather limited the Panthers to just 45 minutes of on-field work. Newberry also cannot practice in the morning to avoid the afternoon storms due to a lack of lights on its practice field, Johnson added.
“It’s not an excuse,” Johnson said. “We still got to do a better job of preparing.”
Meanwhile, Santa Fe will look to continue its momentum next week with a home game against Zarephath Academy. Newberry will look to avoid an 0-2 start with a trip to rival Hawthorne.
