Photo courtesy of Ruth Klossner Nicollet receiver Conner Martens (14) sheds a tackle during a nine-man football game at Heron Lake on Sept. 30.

NICOLLET — After a rough road loss at the hands of Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda last Saturday, the Nicollet Raiders return home this Friday in hopes of knocking off one of the top teams in the district.

That top team is the New Ulm Cathedral Greyhounds, who sport a 4-1 mark on the season and sit third in the Nine Man South District, West Subdistrict.

While Cathedral has won two in a row this season, Nicollet has had a see-saw season so far and has been unable to put together back-to-back wins.

The Raiders fell in Houston 58-44 in Week 1 before returning home to beat Westbrook-Walnut Grove 59-8. They then loss to Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Truman/Martin Luther 44-16 in Week 3 and returned home in Week 4 to down Madelia 41-12.

Last week, HLO/F earned its first win of the season by surprising the Raiders with a 53-13 win.

Over the regular season’s midway hump, Raiders head coach Cory Jans said his team has had some trouble staying consistent and levelheaded.

“We have had success with different things we have done this year, the biggest thing we have to hone in for the game is consistency in our execution,” Jans said. “Big plays and breakdowns happen at times in every football game, we have to be able to have a short memory and focus on what’s going on in the present. Sometimes games can be roller-coaster rides, we need to be able to stay levelheaded while the roller coaster is going around.”

Getting that roller coaster up the tracks again this Friday could be a challenge for the Raiders as the Greyhounds have displayed an ability to spread the ball around and keep the clock moving behind a powerful rushing attack.

“They are very well rounded and have had success spreading the football around to a lot of players on their team,” Jans said. “We have focused a lot this week on trusting your teammates and rallying to the football.”

Meanwhile, Nicollet has kept things balanced on offense with 1,017 yards rushing and 986 yards through the air.

Raiders senior quarterback Trenton Havemeier has completed 70 of 128 passes (54.7%) for 856 yards, eight touchdowns and nine interceptions. Conner Martens, a 6-foot-2 senior wideout, has been Havemeier’s top target with 37 catches for 556 yards and eight touchdowns.

Junior running back Nick Slater (195 pounds) leads the Raiders on the ground this season with 496 yards rushing and three TDs on 65 carries, while Martens has also rushed for 244 yards and four TDs.

All that offense has helped the Raiders average 34.6 ppg this year, third out of 12 teams in the subdistrict. But turnovers and defensive mishaps have hurt the Raiders also as they’re allowing 35 ppg.

Against a team that can manage the clock and keep offenses honest like Cathedral, the Raiders will need to limit those mistakes if they hope to bounce back.

“Big keys in the game for us will be to limit self-inflicted errors and play assignment sound,” Jans said. “Those are two things that we have focused on and repped this week continually.”

In addition to being the top rusher for the Raiders this season, Slater has helped captain his team on defense with 55 tackles, 1 1/2 sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. Brecken Northquest, a 6-2, 180-pound senior linebacker, has 34 tackles, two sacks and two fumble recoveries.

Linebackers AJ Kramer (senior, 200 pounds) and Hunter Erickson (junior, 175 pounds) have also picked up two sacks apiece this season, while 6-1 senior defensive back Gavin Bode leads the team in interceptions with two.

Jans said he has some players with nagging injuries, but he’s hoping to have everyone back and ready to go Friday.

Kickoff is 7 p.m. at Nicollet High School.