MIDDLETOWN — The Shenandoah Raiders seemed to have an early answer to Centerville’s passing game on Friday night. But as things progressed, Centerville’s offense quickly picked up steam and rolled to a 27-7 victory, giving the Raiders their first loss of the season.

The Bulldogs, who improved their record to 3-0, were led by junior quarterback Jacob Stewart, who was 12-for-21 with 176 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Shenandoah, however, seemed to have his number early on in the contest.

Stewart started the game out with five straight incompletions, two of which were interceptions by Shenandoah’s Brandon Barnell and Jared Bromagem.

“There were a couple spots that (Centerville) liked to throw to in their first two games,” said Shenandoah coach Scott Widner. “We wanted to take those spots away, and we did, but they found a couple other ones.”

“I think they did a nice job confusing us early on,” said Centerville coach Matt Holeva. “Once we kind of settled down and saw what they were doing, we were able to take advantage of some things.”

After a scoreless first quarter with only 15 total yards for Centerville, Stewart led his team with eight straight completions, including a 27-yard touchdown pass to Drew Schauss.

On offense, Shenandoah struggled to take advantage of opportunities in the first half. Three separate times in the first half the Raiders were able to take the ball inside the Bulldogs 30-yard line, but each time the Raiders turned the ball over on downs.

“We have got to get on that, and we have to score those points when we get those chances,” Widner said. “If you don’t against a team this good, it’s going to be hard to get a win.”

After an eight-yard touchdown pass from Stewart to Jacob Honkomp to start the third quarter, Centerville jumped ahead to a commanding 17-0 lead.

The Raiders, however, exhibited some offensive execution of their own on the following drive. Capping of a seven play, 71-yard drive, Luke Hamm scampered in for a 20-yard rushing touchdown, bringing the Raiders to within 10 points. The touchdown was Hamm’s sixth touchdown of the season.

“We put some things together on offense and got our rhythm going a little bit,” said Widner.

Following the touchdown, Centerville was forced to punt on its next possession, giving a little hope to the Raiders. However, on the first play of the Raiders’ drive, sophomore quarterback Zack York threw an interception, which gave the momentum back to Centerville.

“I felt like that was our chance,” said Widner. “At that point, it was 17-7, and we had the ball deep in our territory. I was trying to get something going by hitting the big one there. It just was not a very good call.”

Offensively, the Raiders were led by Hamm, who had 92 yards on 15 carries. Sophomore Zach Cole rushed for 41 yards on three carries.