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Sports

North Shore Wants Back on Winning Track

The Raiders look to end two-game losing streak in taking on Chicago Hope on Thursday.

The North Shore Country Day Raiders are having some success early in the 2010 season, and a 40-38 win Thursday over Chicago Hope Academy lifted them to a 2-2 record after four games.

"This season has gone well,'' coach Jim Deuble said. "I think we are improving. Both of the teams we lost to this season beat us by over 30 points last year, and we have been competitive in those games."

"Even though we lost them, they were four-quarter games," he added. "We have done a better job and our numbers are better."

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Deuble knows something about how things run at North Shore. This is his 21st season as coach of the Raiders, and he has taken the team to the playoffs four times in the last 10 years.

The Raiders started off the season with a 25-0 win at home against Mooseheart School, with quarterback Steven Smith completing 26 of 40 passes for 265 yards. The offense was led by Carlos Hunter and Ayo Okesanya, who each rushed for 89 yards. Hunter scored two touchdowns, as the Raiders topped Mooseheart for the first time in five years.

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Since then, the outcomes did not go the way Deuble wanted exactly, as the Raiders lost to Chicago International Charter School-Longwood 24-8 and then dropped a close contest to Christian Life High School 21-14.

"I think our attitude has been better this season,'' Deuble said. "With our winter work and summer work, we are greatly improved with consistency. The kids who were a little green around the edges last year are contributing this year."

North Shore has only four seniors on the squad, and 19 of the players are either first- or second-year players. "We do count on our sophomores a lot,'' Deuble said.

"We have a sophomore named Elias Butler who is playing linebacker and he has really stepped up,'' the coach said. "Carlos Hunter is a running back and linebacker and has done a really good job, especially on defense. David Deuble (the coach's son) is a senior who is our safety and plays receiver, and he has done well. And we've got a four-year player, Wilson Taylor, who plays defensive tackle and offensive line and has held down those positions well."

The Raiders were 2-7 last season, their first in the newly formed 10-team Northeastern Atlantic Conference. The conference sent five teams to the playoffs last season, and presently has three unbeatens among its ranks: Longwood, Alden-Hebron and Rockford Christian.

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