Carl Brooks decided to retire as coach of the Lawrence Raiders after this summer for two reasons.

First, Brooks knew he had a talented team that had a shot at a state American Legion championship, and that’s exactly what happened earlier this month when the Raiders became the first AAA Legion state champ from Lawrence in 39 years.

The second reason isn’t quite as simple.

The Raiders will begin pool play at 1 p.m. today against DePere, Wis., in the Legion Region Six tournament in New Ulm, Minn. The winner of the regional will qualify for the Legion World Series next week in Bartlesville, Okla., which happens to be where Brooks began coaching.

“That’s an interesting deal. That’s where my personality as a coach developed,” Brooks said. “To coach in Bartlesville again in that setting is more than I can imagine.”

Before that can happen though, the Raiders (40-10) must capture the Central Plains Regional, and that will be a challenge because four of the eight teams have posted more wins than the Lawrence entry.

The Minot, N.D., club the Raiders will play at 10 a.m. Friday has a 44-15 record. And the Rochester, Minn., team, which Lawrence will play at 5 p.m. Saturday, sports a glossy 47-3 record.

“We’re not intimidated by anyone,” said Derek Bailey, who leads the Raiders in nearly every offensive category, including hits (75), runs (65), home runs (10) and RBIs (70).

“I think the rest of the country kind of looks down on baseball in Kansas, and so we’re going to come in here and try to prove them wrong,” Bailey said.

While Lawrence’s pool play opponents have impressive records, so do the teams in the other pool (Bellevue, Neb., has 49 wins; South Falls, S.D., has 48), the Raiders are on a roll, having won 20 games in a row.

“I’ve never had a team win 20 straight before,” said Brooks, who was an assistant coach on the 1976 Bartlesville team that won its state championship. “This team is really something. They just do what it takes to get it done. They’re very experienced and nothing seems to bother them.”

Well, maybe college.

“There are some school concerns. We have lots of kids that are going to be starting school and we’ve got some kids that are going to miss school,” Brooks said. “But this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and we’re playing it for all it’s worth.”

That certainly was the case for second baseman Andrew Pyle, who is going to miss the start of football today at Grinnell College in Iowa.

“I called my football coach and he said he didn’t really know about it,” said the former Eudora High football standout, who also will play baseball for Grinnell in the spring. “But he called me back and he said that he would support me in what I wanted to do and I said I wanted to do it.

“I’m not ready to quit yet,” Pyle said. “I think we have a chance to get to the World Series, and I want to help my team get there.”

Taylor Martin, who is supposed to be at Neosho County Community College Sunday, said he is willing to miss the start of school.

“Our coach wants us to be there, but we all want to play and we all think it’s kind of a once-in-a-lifetime thing, so it’s worth getting a little behind in school.”

Tommy Mangino, who decided to play at Johnson County Community College instead of walking on at Kansas University, is scheduled to report next Wednesday, but said he doesn’t think he’ll be in class that day.

“We are just a determined bunch of kids,” Mangino said. “I’ve been here two years and I think all these kids said it’s our time.”

Aaron Madill will start on the mound for the Raiders today against DePere. He’s the club’s top hurler with an 8-0 record. The veteran right-hander has 67 strikeouts in 65 innings and an 0.97 ERA.

No matter what happens Brooks said he’s happy with his final season, but…

“We’re happy to be state champions, trust me on that one.” Brooks said. “But we certainly don’t think this season is over. We’ve got a few goals ahead of us, and we really would like to get to the World Series.”

Martin said it’s a must, especially getting Brooks to Bartlesville.

“That’s his dream and we’re all going to do it for him and give him one last chance there,” Martin said.