Raiders keep building on commitment to local high school football scene

By Case Keefer (contact)

Friday, Aug. 11, 2023 | 2 a.m.

Pick up the football from the ground, secure it, run through a gauntlet of bags and finish strong.

Those are the basics of a new running backs drill Spring Valley High coach Marcus Teal, one of the longest-tenured high school football coaches in Southern Nevada, recently implemented at practice. His players immediately recognized it and realized where Teal took it from.

“A lot of the kids were like, ‘Oh yeah, the Raiders did this,’ and they really got after it,” Teal said.

The Grizzlies would know as they were one of six local high school football programs — along with three girls flag football teams — invited to watch a Raiders’ training camp practice at the team’s Henderson headquarters over the last two weeks.

Their set of bleachers were right in front of Zamir White, Ameer Abdullah, Brandon Bolden and the rest of the Raiders’ running backs as they went through positional drills early in practice. It’s the second straight year the Raiders have selected prep teams to come out to training camp, and the visits have consistently made an impact.   

Teal said his players took more out of the experience than he even imagined, as it motivated them for the final stretch of their own practices ahead of their season-opening game on Friday Aug. 18 against Desert Pines High.

“They got a chance to see some of the guys that they watch on television and see how they practice, how they go about their business when the lights aren’t on and without thousands of people sitting in the stands watching them,” Teal said.

The Raiders promised to prioritize making an impact in the local community upon relocating to Las Vegas and followed up with a large number of initiatives spanning a number of different areas. But perhaps nowhere has their impact been more evident than in the youth and high school football worlds.

The team started holding local developmental camps a couple of years before they moved here. They now regularly have high school teams out to their facility for offseason events like 7-on-7 tournaments and other passing leagues.

The Raiders also sponsor one high school game a week as part of their “Friday Night Showcase” series and award a “Tom Flores Coach of the Week” that comes with a $1,000 donation to the chosen school’s athletic department.

Teal won the award in 2018 and 2021.

“It’s important to us to do the right thing on the field, but also do the right thing off the field and in the community,” Raiders coach Josh McDaniels said. “The organization has always stood for that, and it’s been clear to me since I set foot in this building that that’s a priority. So being able to help those kids in this area, whether it's equipment or an opportunity to witness us try to do our work, I think all the guys that play football know how much of a role model they become to our youth.”

McDaniels has a deep love for high school football dating back to his days starring for one of the nation’s top programs, Canton McKinley High in Ohio, where his father was a legendary coach. He once told the Canton Repository that his “only dream and goal” in football was to play for the Bulldogs.

The only time the second-year coach would stray from his wardrobe of Raiders’ gear last season was when he’d sport a “W” for Westwood High in Massachusetts. That’s where his oldest son, Jack, was starring as a receiver in his senior season.

The commitment to high school football may start at the top of the organization, but it extends in all areas — especially among the players. Several of them spoke highly of getting the chance to play in front of teams like Spring Valley in a more intimate setting than Allegiant Stadium.

“High school was when I really fell in love with football,” rookie quarterback Aidan O’Connell said. “The lights on Friday watching my older brothers play was huge for me. If I had that opportunity in high school, it would have been pretty cool. It’s awesome that those high schools have been able to do that. I love being in the community, helping those kids, encouraging those kids, especially for me, it was a long shot for me to make it here, so it would mean the world to me to encourage one other kid to shoot for the stars.”

The Raiders have enabled scores of high schoolers to participate in football that may not otherwise have the chance, and also given them resources to succeed. A number of Raider players have presented checks over the last couple years to high schools including Mojave, Eldorado and Palo Verde to pay for a weight room or other athletic upgrades.

They also provide equipment to several underprivileged athletes.

“I couldn’t purchase shoes for a lot of my kids, some of them have trouble doing that,” Teal said. “But the Raiders offer up cleats every year and send out 20 cleats to select high schools and are able to outfit kids who don’t have a whole lot. I think it’s been a real shot in the arm to our high school football community with these guys being here.”

Teal is a lifelong Raiders’ fan who was drawn to the franchise’s success and mentality as a child. He moved to Las Vegas in 1998 and was ecstatic when, nearly 20 years later, his favorite team announced they were following him.

His excitement mostly had to do with the chance to follow the Raiders up close, as he didn’t quite comprehend how much their presence would help the local prep football community. Now he’s seen it firsthand and has another reason to love the organization.   

“Any time we can give back, or help them in any way, that’s certainly a goal that’s been very clear to me since I got here,” McDaniels said.

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or