Telegram - Serving Metropolitan Detroit Since 1944

The football season has been exciting for the Ecorse Red Raiders and the District finals didn't disappoint. The Raiders ran a touchdown to win their game last Friday with seven seconds on the clock. The last play of the game Quarterback Marquis Campbell connected to Dion Dalton on a 12 yard touchdown run. The final score Ecorse 20 Detroit Southeastern 18. The last time Ecorse won the districts was in 2011 and it had been over 20 years before then.

New Head Coach Jovan Olaifoye said, "We have to trust the process." Several of our games this season were decided in the final minutes." With the District win, the Ecorse Raiders will begin the next round of play this Friday against Michigan Collegiate at Bishop Foley High School in Madison Heights. This is the first game of the Regionals.

'Coach O' started his coaching career at Ecorse High School in 2019 after a successful professional football career in the Canadian Football League. He started with four (4) interested players and Covid-19 blooming. That didn't deter him. He knew that his plan to build a football program for the school and the community would just take time.

Ecorse record for this year was 7 and 3. Coach O said, "We started off kinda slow, but we ended the regular season finishing strong. Each game we lost, we got better. Everything is a learning tool/process. Every game and every practice we are getting better.

JOVAN OLAFIOYE - Head Football Coach

When he was asked, what he attributes the success of the Raiders' to, he said, "Staying committed and trusting the process of building the program from the ground up. When I started, there were 4 or 5 football players in the whole school coming to work out. Last year we had 33 guys and this year we have 28 guys. We have a pretty young team. However, we are showing the kids that we care about their overall being not just about football. Being an Ex-professional football player, I tell them that football is a tool they can use to get out of their current situation. Everybody is not going to go pro, but you can use football to get a free education."

This football season is giving the current team, staff, and community an experience that they will never forget. For Coach O, being a kid from Ecorse, raised in Ecorse, bringing excitement to Ecorse and bringing the community together; this is a dream come true.

Good luck Ecorse Red Raiders!