Raiders’ Home Still Their Castle : Pro football: They improve to 10-0 at Coliseum under Shell as Schroeder has a sharp first half and the defense holds off late charge by Krieg and Seahawks, 24-17.

Sunday’s late results from the Coliseum revealed that home victories were up, arrests were down, Bo was back in town, Jay Schroeder isn’t going anywhere except the Pro Bowl, perhaps, and that no lead is too safe for the Raiders, who almost wasted a three-touchdown lead before holding off the Seattle Seahawks, 24-17, before 50,624.

The Raiders led 21-0 at one point in the first half and then watched it slip away, evoking memories of last Sunday’s 10-point lead that vanished in Buffalo.

“But we knew this was the (Black) Bottom, not Rich Stadium,” defensive end Greg Townsend said.

A point well taken. With the victory, the 5-1 Raiders ran their record to 10-0 at the Coliseum under Coach Art Shell. Opponents will be glad to know that the Raiders don’t play another home game until Nov. 11.

The Raiders looked so good in the first half you knew it couldn’t last, and it didn’t. The offense scored on its first three possessions with drives of 81, 80, and 48 yards. For Schroeder, it seemed as easy as playing sideline catch with his receivers. He completed 14 of 17 passes in the half for three touchdowns. One of his incompletions was a deliberate throw-away. Schroeder had a string of eight consecutive completions at one point.

Schroeder’s third touchdown pass, a three-yard pass to tight end Ethan Horton with 4:13 left in the half, put the Raiders up 21-0.

Then, the Black Bottom fell out. Seattle drove 75 yards in eight plays and scored on a five-yard pass from quarterback Dave Krieg to Paul Skansi.

Ron Brown fumbled the ensuing kickoff at his own 35, and the Seahawks pounced on the opportunity. On third and 20, Krieg found Tommy Kane wide open down the left sideline for a 31-yard scoring pass with 24 seconds left, cutting the lead to 24-14. The Raiders couldn’t get to halftime fast enough.

“At 21-0, I was assuming that they would just play the game out,” Townsend said.

Shell pulled out all the stops at the half, telling his players that the Seahawks were like dogs, that if you let them hang around long enough they would bite.

That said, the Raiders opened the third quarter posing as postal workers. The Seahawks took the opening kickoff and drove the field toward the tying touchdown. The Raider offense watched helplessly. Since taking a 21-0 lead, Schroeder’s Raiders had taken one offensive snap, to run out the last 24 seconds in the first half.

Before the Raiders blinked, Krieg had the Seahawks first and goal at the Raider six. Townsend knew it was time for a play to turn the game around. If not him, who? Krieg dropped back to pass. Townsend raked the ball from Krieg’s hands, with Bill Pickel recovering at the 15.

Meanwhile, the Raider offense was as cold as ice.

“Sometimes you get out of rhythm,” receiver Mervyn Fernandez said. “Sometimes, it’s tough to get back.”

The Raiders ran three plays and punted, and here came the Seahawks again, charging from their own 33. The Raiders at this point had no clue how to stop Krieg, who would pick the defense apart for 294 yards passing.

The Raider strategy was to use a three-man pass rush and employ an extra defensive back to control Seattle’s short passing game. The Raiders were giving up yards and hoping for big defensive plays.

The second of the half came with 14:21 left when Eddie Anderson and Bob Golic hammered tailback Derrick Fenner after a fancy spin move, forcing the ball loose. Anderson recovered at the Seattle 23, leading to a 22-yard field goal by Jeff Jaeger to put the Raiders up by seven points, 24-17.

Then it was a matter of hanging on. Seattle’s Norm Johnson missed a 30-yard field goal with 7:13 left that would have cut the lead to four. The Raiders couldn’t run the clock out, though, and Seattle had one last chance from its 20 with 2:35 left.

On third and 10, Krieg threw 32 yards to Jeff Chadwick, who made a sliding catch to the Raider 48.

Townsend decided enough was enough. He was huffing and puffing all day in this three-man pass rush scheme, but he had enough left to drop Krieg for a seven-yard loss on first down. Then came two incompletes, leaving Seattle with fourth and 17 at the Raider 45. Krieg gave it one more fling, and actually completed a sideline pass to receiver Brian Blades, who had enough yards for a first down except that he was ruled out of bounds on the play. A replay request was upheld. There was 1:38 left. The Raiders had survived.

“The defense has been hanging on all year,” Shell said. “Seattle is the type of team that can create a few problems for us. But when they had to make big plays, they did. Greg Townsend was outstanding the whole game. He kept constant pressure on the quarterback.”

Townsend had two sacks, both in the second half, and was the first to admit he’s not a big fan of three-man rushes.

“That defense is not for me,” he said. “But it was something we had to do. If I had a team, we would not have a three-man line.”

When someone suggested that Townsend get credit for an extra sack because of the circumstances, Townsend responded, “Thank you.”

Schroeder, who has heard a few boos in the Coliseum in his time, was also taking a few bows afterward. He finished having completed 19 of 26 passes for 235 yards and three touchdowns.

Better yet, only two more days to sweat out before that trading deadline.

Raider Notes

Sunday’s one-game ban on alcohol at the Coliseum produced the following results: There were six arrests and 34 ejections, 24 that were deemed alcohol related. That compares to 31 arrests and 88 ejections at a Sept. 30 home game against Chicago. According to a Coliseum spokesperson, only two of Sunday’s arrests were alcohol related. . . . Greg Bell suffered a sprained right ankle but X-rays were negative. Bell was limping badly in the locker room, but a team doctor could not estimate how long Bell might be out. If Bell is seriously hurt, it could end speculation about the Raiders trading Marcus Allen before Tuesday’s 1 p.m. deadline.

Bo Jackson reported to the Raiders on Saturday and was on the sidelines Sunday. He did not grant interviews, saying only that he didn’t know if he’d play in next Sunday’s game against San Diego. “You’ll have to be there,” Jackson said. . . . Ron Brown suffered an injured left knee when he fumbled a kickoff in the second quarter, but returned in the second half. For the fourth consecutive week, quarterback Steve Beuerlein was not activated. Beuerlein has not been in a game uniform this season.

Allen led the Raiders in rushing with 41 yards in 12 carries. . . . The Raiders held Seattle to 77 yards rushing. John L. Williams led the Seahawks with 42 yards in nine carries. . . . Raider quarterback Jay Schroeder was sacked once for minus-eight yards. . . . Tight end Ethan Horton caught five passes for 63 yards and one touchdown.

* MIKE DOWNEY: With Bo Jackson returning to the team, the Raiders might try to trade Marcus Allen. Column, C12.

* CONFIDENCE MAN: Jay Schroeder finally gets to hear some cheers from Raider fans. Chris Baker’s story, C12.