BY JARED HASTINGS • Gannett Tennessee • November 20, 2009

Nothing was keeping Cody West off the Tomahawk Stadium Field on Friday night.

Totaling 205 yards of offense against one of the state’s top defenses, West was the catalyst for Riverdale in the No. 6 Warriors 14-7 victory over archrival and fourth-ranked Oakland in the Class 6A quarterfinals at Tomahawk Stadium.

With the win, Riverdale advances to next week’s semifinals at Maryville needing just one more win to advance to the BlueCross Bowl in Cookeville.

“I don’t know if that was the best game he’s played, but he gets better each week” Riverdale coach Ron Aydelott said of West. “Cody was Cody tonight, and as he goes, we go.”

Making West’s performance even more impressive was the fact that it almost didn’t happen.

On Riverdale’s first drive of the second half, Oakland linebacker Joel Keeling tackled West on a third-down keeper leaving West injured on the turf.

Riverdale punted on the ensuing play, and on the Warriors’ next possession, it was sophomore backup Andrew Dale who took the field to lead Riverdale’s first two plays.

Then, with Riverdale facing third-and-three at its own 23, West returned and bulled his way for a four-yard gain and a first down.

“We saw the he was coming back and everybody got hyped back up and ready to go,” said sophomore running back/defensive back Marcelous Odom. “We just wanted to go get on the board.”

After the key first down, West needed just four plays to March Riverdale to the end zone. He completed a 12-yard pass to David Miles-Peppers, followed by a 48-yarder to Waltez Gaines down to the Oakland 13. After Waltez Gaines’ nine-yard run set up first-and-goal at the Oakland 4, West dove into the end zone for the game’s winning score.

“I just strained something in my neck,” said West. “They were just checking that out and they weren’t going to let me back in until they were sure all the bones were OK.

“But I was coming back in. They weren’t going to keep me out.”

West finished the game with 156 yards passing on 7-of-12 passing. He added 50 yards rushing on 10 carries, including the four-yard touchdown run.

Even at game’s end, it was tough to get West off the field. The senior was one of the last players to leave the field, making the most of his last time on the Tomahawk Stadium turf.

“They thought they wanted it more,” West said. “They didn’t. We wanted it more.”

— Jared Hastings, 615-278-5169