Silver and Black Report

Johnnie Lee Higgins knew coming into the pre-season that he will have a shot to redeem himself from a shaky first season returning punts.

With the loss of Chris Carr, the Oakland Raiders (1-0) pegged the slim receiver as the main punt returner in 2008 and in his first game action; Higgins delivered the first score of Friday’s game against the San Francisco 49ers (0-1), returning an Andy Lee punt 53-yards for a touchdown in the 2^nd quarter.

That set the tone to an evening in which the Silver & Black forced four turnovers and beat their bay area rivals 18-6 in front of the ‘Black Hole.’

Alex Smith, who is in a three-way battle at quarterback for the 49ers, drove his team 59-yards on 10-plays as the first half wound down to give his team some life. Joe Nedney booted a 22-yard field goal and the Raiders went into halftime with a slim 7-3 lead.

But the Raiders opened up the 2^nd half with an efficient 13-play, 75-yard drive, led by Andrew Walter, who appears to be the clear favorite to back-up the starter JaMarcus Russell.

Walter completed his first five passes, highlighted by a 19-yard toss to wide receiver Todd Watkins to open the scoring drive. Watkins has been one of the better players in camp this summer, and he continued to display to coaches that he is deserving of a roster spot with his 3 receptions for 39 yards tonight.

Michael Bush capped off the opening drive of the second half with 5-yard run into paydirt on a 4^th and 1 to give the Silver & Black a 15-3.

The Raiders added an Aaron Elling 23-yard field goal in the 4^th quarter to make it 18-3.

GAME NOTES:

• The Raiders compiled 248 yards rushing, led by rookie Louis Rankin’s 91-yards.
• San Francisco converted just two out of their eleven third down attempts and were unsuccessful on both of their 4th down conversions.
• Andrew Walter was 10/12 for 82-yard passing.
• Stanford Routt and Hiram Eugene recorded both Raider interceptions.
• Chris Johnson did a solid job on kick returns, amassing 43-yards on two returns.