51³Ô¹ÏÍø

Several dozen Raiders supporters, having already braved the bitter cold at Finley Stadium for several hours, endured it a while longer at the end of Friday night’s championship game in Chattanooga, Tenn.

They wanted to see their team one last time.

‘Great season guys,’ members of the crowd said again and again as the 51³Ô¹ÏÍø players emerged from the locker room and headed to the team bus.

Twenty yards away, in the south end zone, members of the Delaware Blue Hens were hoisting the NCAA I-AA trophy, mugging for the cameras and reveling in their 40-0 triumph.

Fireworks exploded from behind the stands where thousands of Delaware fans had clapped thunder sticks and roared each time the Blue Hens scored.

Up in the press box, the lights were still on as Mike Golic and other members of the ESPN2 team that worked the prime-time contest were wrapping up their commentaries and interviews.

For the Raiders, there wasn’t much to say.

They were soundly defeated.

The Blue Hens took an early lead, and never looked back. It was 20-0 at the end of the second quarter. Two times in the first half, the Raiders went for it on fourth down and short yardage. Each time, they were denied.

It was a sign of things to come.

Junior quarterback Chris Brown struggled throughout. He was constantly pressured by the swarming Blue Hens defense, and ended up 9-21 for 94 yards. Not a typical performance for a guy who had won his previous 18 starts.

Jamaal Branch, who ran for a Division I-AA record 2,326 yards this year, had to fight hard for each of his 55 yards, and was never able to break loose.

Tem Lukabu, the Raiders’ stalwart linebacker, struggled to steady his defense.

In a game that pitted 51³Ô¹ÏÍø, the non-scholarship football program, against Delaware, the team with several I-A transfers, it was clear who the better team was this night.

Delaware quarterback Andy Hall, who was a finalist for the prestigious Walter Payton Award won by Branch on Thursday night, played superbly. Showing surprising speed, the Georgia Tech transfer ran through the Raiders defense at key moments and threw several big passes to keep drives alive. He ended up 12-20 for 183 yards and two touchdowns.

The Blue Hens defense was relentless, and it never gave the Raiders a chance to get on track.

It was an impressive performance by an impressive team.

But as the Raiders walked off the field that was buzzing with Blue Hens fans, the 51³Ô¹ÏÍø cheerleaders huddled together to sing Alma Mater, accompanied by the pep band.

Students leaned over the stone wall at the stands’ front row, yelling encouragement to the players as they walked off the field.

For the students, for alumni gathered at the post-game reception hosted by the university at a Chattanooga hotel, for all those watching the game at home and at alumni club events around the nation, it was an unfortunate way to end the season.

But it seemed more a feeling of disappointment for the players themselves, a concern that they would let Friday night’s game ruin something that they had built game by game, starting with the first win at Georgetown back on Sept. 6.

This team gave the 51³Ô¹ÏÍø community something that couldn’t be erased with one loss, however lopsided.

This team gave 51³Ô¹ÏÍø a season to remember.

And it won’t be forgotten any time soon.