DOUG GRABARCZYK - For The Tennessean

LEBANON — It wasn’t something that the Riverdale football team wanted to talk much about before the game, but last week’s loss to Lincoln County was eating at the Warriors. So there was something they had to take care of last night.

With a steady offensive push and a suffocating defense, Riverdale trounced host Lebanon 34-0 to remain undefeated in Region 4-5A.

Warriors running back Spike McDaniel scored three touchdowns to lead a Riverdale rushing attack that scored four times and put up 298 yards. And that was satisfying.

“We had a lot of revenge in our minds, and we wanted to let go of that,” McDaniel said. “We kind of came out quiet, which was good. We were going through our assignments and taking care of what we needed to.

“We definitely had to come out with intensity and keep the intensity. We were prepared in all directions.”

McDaniel scored on runs of 29 and 1 yard on Riverdale’s first two drives, giving the Warriors (3-1, 2-0 4-5A) a quick 14-0 lead. The second score was set up by the first of three Riverdale interceptions.

Gaston Miller scored on a 1-yard dive on the first play of the second quarter, and, after defensive end Chris Perkins picked off a Lebanon pass to the left flat and returned it to the Blue Devils 28, quarterback Dave Thomas put the Warriors up 28-0 with a 17-yard scoring pass to Rahmel Oliver.

Riverdale amassed 194 total yards in the half, compared to just 77 for Lebanon (1-3, 1-1), and scored on all four of its first-half possessions. The Warriors defense forced five turnovers and was constantly forcing Lebanon quarterback Arkee Grooms to tuck the ball and scramble out of the Blue Devils’ shotgun formation.

Six Warriors running backs had at least 40 yards in the game, led by Phillip Stephenson’s 54 yards. McDaniel had 48 yards, and Miller had 43 to go with his one touchdown.

“Their X’s are bigger than ours,” Lebanon Coach Bobby Brown said. “Over the long haul that wears you down. They did everything we expected them to. They were just big enough and strong enough to do it.”

McDaniel added his third score with 3:44 left in the third quarter, going in from 1 yard for a 34-0 Warriors lead.