Riverdale Warriors Football
Maryville ends Riverdale's undefeated season
MARYVILLE — Riverdale got the start it needed Friday night.
The second half, though, was a disaster.
Second-ranked Riverdale turned it over four times in the second half, and top-ranked Maryville capitalized. The Rebels defeated Riverdale 42-14 at Shields Stadium in the TSSAA Class 6A state semifinals.
Riverdale ended its season 13-1. Maryville (14-0) reached its eighth straight BlueCross championship game with the win.
“Against a team like that, if you turn it over that many times, you are doomed,” Riverdale coach Ron Aydelott said.
Riverdale’s offensive meltdown came after a strong first half with Riverdale trailing 14-7 after Maryville turned it over three times.
“We came out and played like we wanted to (in the first half),” Riverdale senior Adam Davenport said. “We wanted to obviously play better in the second half. But we had some turnovers and things didn’t go our way.”
Things crumbled quickly for Riverdale in the third quarter.
Riverdale’s Mariko Odom fumbled the second-half kickoff. Maryville’s Shawn Prevo capitalized with a 2-yard TD run three plays later.
“Things went our way,” Maryville coach George Quarles said. “I thought the key play of the game was the opening kickoff of the second half with them fumbling, instead of them potentially tying it up.
“We go up 21-7. I think that took a little out of them and gave us some confidence.”
Quarterback Andrew Dale, who was making his first career start in place of injured Dillon Woodruff, threw an interception to Brian Coulter on the next series. Dale’s pass bounced off of receiver Lamar Brown.
Maryville QB Patton Robinette scored on a 4-yard TD run five plays later with 7:10 left in the third quarter to extend the Rebels’ lead to 28-7.
And the rout was on. Riverdale had just eight offensive snaps in the third quarter. Maryville punted just one time in the game.
“We came out in the kickoff and had a turnover from the get,” Marcelous Odom said. “We just had turnover after turnover after that.”
Dale was picked off a second time when linebacker Nathan Miranda intercepted him near midfield. Four plays later, Prevo bumped the lead to 35-7 on a 4-yard run. Then Marcelous Odom fumbled near the Riverdale sideline and Trenton Shuler scooped and ran it 43 yards for the score and force the TSSAA mercy rule of a running clock with 7:56 remaining
Junior Peyton Phillips lifted the mercy rule when he picked up a fumble and ran 47 yards untouched into the end zone with 3:52 left.
Davenport led Riverdale with 139 yards on 14 carries. Prevo, a sophomore, had 119 yards on 17 carries with two touchdowns. Robinette added 94 rushing yards on 12 carries.
Maryville finished the game with 303 total yards, including 246 rushing yards on 39 carries. Robinette was 8 of 12 passing for 57 yards with a three total touchdowns — two rushing and one passing. Robinette attempted just one pass in the second half.
Riverdale finished with a season-low 223 total yards. Riverdale had 179 rushing yards on 31 carries. Dale was 9 of 16 passing for 44 yards with two interceptions.
Maryville turned the ball over an uncharacteristic three times — two fumbles and an interception — in the first half.
Keenan Jackson’s fumble recovery set up Davenport’s 73-yard TD run on the Warriors’ second offensive play for a quick 7-0 lead. It marked the first time all season that Maryville has trailed, Quarles said.
But Prevo answered for Maryville, returning the kickoff 80 yards to the Riverdale 12. Robinette, a North Carolina commitment, hit Kevin Niethammer for a 12-yard TD reception on the next play.
Riverdale failed to capitalize on a Maryville fumbled punt that gave the Warriors the ball at the Maryville 44. But Josh Arman’s punt went out of bounds inside the Maryville 1.
Robinette led the Rebels on a methodical 20-play drive that ate up 7:26 of the first half. Robinette capped the drive with a 12-yard TD run.
“That was against a good defense,” Quarles said. “Riverdale is good up front. They get after you and move around. That was as good of a drive as we’ve had all year.”Warriors punish Oak Ridge
Written by Tom Kreager
MURFREESBORO — Riverdale showed its heart Friday night.
It may need a bigger dose of it next week.
Second-ranked Riverdale beat Oak Ridge 35-10 at Tomahawk Stadium in the Class 6A state quarterfinals. But in the process they may have lost quarterback Dillon Woodruff.
Woodruff, a two-year starter, injured his right knee initially in the first half. He later re-injured it midway through the fouth quarter on a Mariko Odom 3-yard loss.
"I don't know," Riverdale coach Ron Aydelott said of the injury. "It doesn't appear good now. But we'll have to wait and see. They'll probably do an MRI and we'll find out."
Riverdale (13-0) will play at top-ranked Maryville (13-0) next Friday in the Class 6A semifinals. Maryville defeated Riverdale 42-30 in the 2009 Class 6A semifinals in their only meeting.
Riverdale held Oak Ridge (9-4) to 121 total yards, including just 51 yards in the second half. Oak Ridge quarterback Bradley Zulliger, the Wildcats' career passing leader, finished 9 of 25 passing for 70 yards, but had four interceptions.
"Coming into this game we really had a big chip on our shoulders," said Riverdale linebacker Scottie Boykin, who had a first-half interception. "We had to go hard."
Riverdale finished with 294 total yards, including 229 rushing yards.
Riverdale played inspired football in the first half — zooming to a quick 21-0 lead. The Warriors played with a passion, wanting to show their heart after Zulliger questioned Riverdale's heart after last year's 28-21 win over Riverdale in the quarterfinals.
"We came out on a high because of what their quarterback said last year," Boykin said. "Also, we brought out the black jerseys."
Riverdale wore its black jerseys and black pants for the second time in three weeks. The Warriors first wore them against Oakland in Week 10.
Leading 21-10 at halftime, Riverdale went 50 yards on six plays, making it 28-10 on Adam Davenport's 2-yard touchdown with 11:21 left.
Odom picked off a Zulliger pass five plays later and returned it to the Oak Ridge 39 to set up the last score.
Woodruff was injured seven plays later, but Davenport scored on the next play on a 15-yard TD run."The coaches called my number," said Davenport, who had a game-high 78 yards on 16 carries with three touchdowns. "I just do what I needed to do."
Riverdale scored touchdowns on its first three series, taking advantage of multiple short fields.
Davenport scored on a 4-yard TD run one play after his 9-yard pass reception from Woodruff kept the drive alive on third-and-five.
Linebacker Rodney Burns' interception on the Oak Ridge 34-yard line set up the Warriors' second TD. Riverdale needed just six plays before Woodruff muscled into the end zone on a 2-yard run with 2:26 left in the first quarter.
Zulliger was picked off by Boykin, who returned it 35 yards to the Oak Ridge 1. Marcelous Odom scored on the next play to extend it to 21-0 with 11:44 left in the half.
"I tried to dive into the end zone," Boykin said. "But they grabbed my arm."
Oak Ridge's Matt Hall returned the ensuing kickoff 81 yards to the Riverdale 17. Rian Hall scored on a 5-yard TD run. Brett Beeler's 32-yard field goal with 27 seconds left in the first half cut it to 21-10.Scoreboard - November 25, 2011
| Teams | Score | |
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| Riverdale Maryville |
14 42 |
Final |
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