It was a tough game for the Baker Bulldogs Friday night, losing on the road to the Riverdale Raiders 28-20.

Even though Baker rallied from a 21-point deficit at the end of the first half, they still couldn’t pull ahead of the Raiders’ dominant offense.

The Bulldogs were challenged early in the first quarter when the Raiders’ offense scored three consecutive touchdowns. Baker, led by new sophomore QB Sean Francis, was continually denied yards in the first minutes of the game.

It didn’t take long for the Bulldogs to rally and finish the first half trailing by seven and closing that gap to one by the end of the third quarter. As close as the game got, the Raiders’ final TD in the third ended any chance for Baker.

In the first half, Bulldog Mike Anderson returned a punt 80 yards and defensive end Brandon McNew sacked Raiders’ QB Nathan Gahafer.

Running back Marvin Riedewald scored for the Bulldogs in the second quarter. Ron Ward also scored in the last seconds before halftime.

Baker (1-1) visits Estero next Friday.