Written by Jack Hart
Central A&M opened the 2026 football season in impressive fashion Friday night, rolling past Dee-Mack 33-6 behind a dominant second-half performance and a defense that consistently made big plays.
The Raiders settled in after a sluggish first half and came out of halftime with a completely different mentality, finding their rhythm offensively while continuing to make plays defensively.
Rhett McLain was a major factor for Central A&M, hauling in a 74-yard touchdown pass while also scoring three rushing touchdowns, including a 2-yard touchdown run.
Aiden Sikes added a receiving touchdown and a rushing touchdown, while Victor Ravelo came up with several big catches and made key tackles on defense.
The biggest story of the night, however, was the Raiders’ defense.
Colin Reed, a lineman, intercepted two passes, while Kayden Higgins added another interception. Central A&M consistently made life difficult for the Dee-Mack offense and helped swing momentum in the Raiders’ favor.
“We struggled in the first half a little bit, but we had a long conversation at halftime and came out and got the job done,” McLain said.
McLain also credited the Raiders’ offensive line, naming Colin Reed, Max Taylor, Chaz Bruandmeier, Hunter Poppenhouse and Parker O’Dell as key contributors up front.
Central A&M head coach Higgins said his team finally settled into the brand of football it wanted to play after halftime.
“Our kids really stepped up, I thought, in the second half,” Higgins said. “We kind of settled in, played our brand of football that we wanted to play in the first half and didn’t.”
Higgins was especially pleased with how his players stayed together and made plays when the team needed them.
“Each guy made a play when we needed it,” Higgins said. “We just got so many weapons. It’s great when they can share that, and we did. We shared the ball.”
For Dee-Mack, Ashton Finch provided the team’s lone touchdown, but the offense struggled to consistently move the football against a strong Central A&M defense.
The 33-6 victory gives Central A&M a 1-0 start to the season and sends the Raiders into Week 2 with plenty of momentum.
Higgins said the Raiders will enjoy the opening-night victory before turning their attention to the film and making corrections.
“We’ll get better,” Higgins said. “There’s a lot of things that we can fix from film.”
The Raiders will now prepare for Fremont in Week 2, looking to build on Friday night’s strong defensive effort and second-half offensive surge.
After seeing the energy from Central A&M fans during the season opener, Higgins also encouraged the Raider faithful to travel with the team.
“CAM fans, come on out,” Higgins said. “Let’s make it our home game.”
