Oakland ends Riverdale's streak
The streak is over, and a new era has begun.
Oakland defeated Riverdale, 17-6, Friday night in the 35th Battle of the 'Boro, snapping the Warriors' 84-game region/district winning streak and sending a message to the rest of the state — this isn't the same Oakland.
Not under first-year coach Thomas McDaniel.
"You pour your heart and your soul and your life into this thing," said McDaniel. " ... For us to be able to come out here and knock off such a great team as Riverdale in front of such a great group of fans that came out to support us, it was pretty special."
Oakland senior running backs Precious Valentine and B.J. Nelson combined for 182 yards on the ground to lead the attack for the Patriots (1-0, 1-0 Region 4-5A), who hadn't beaten Riverdale (0-1, 0-1 Region 4-5A) in nine tries — since 2000.
"It really meant a lot to prove ourselves tonight," Oakland junior quarterback Matthew Schaller said.
Riverdale had not lost a game in region or district play since Sept. 29, 1995, when it fell 14-7 to Mt. Juliet.
"We tried to uphold the streak, but what hurts about this game is just the loss," Riverdale senior fullback/linebacker Aaron Ebalaroza said. "Now we've got to learn from it."
Warriors coach Ron Aydelott declined comment to The Daily News Journal after the game.
Riverdale fumbled five times on the evening — four of which Oakland recovered.
"The emotion was great, everybody was pumped up, but I think we beat ourselves," Riverdale junior linebacker C.J. Overton said.
Said McDaniel: "The team that made the fewest mistakes was going to win."
Oakland scored twice in the first half — both on Nelson runs — and carried a 14-0 advantage into intermission.
Riverdale trimmed the lead to eight in the third quarter on a 7-yard run by junior quarterback Cody West. The Warriors' 2-point conversion attempt failed.
Oakland — which went 3-7 a year ago and has missed the playoffs five straight seasons — answered with a 16-play, 10:11 drive that all but ended Riverdale's chances. Kicker Trevor Hornsby capped it with a 24-yard field goal.
West fumbled three times in the game and lost two of them.
"I felt ready, but maybe a little over confident," West said. "They were a good team, but if we had played our best, we could've beaten them."
Oakland sophomore Tee Mayberry recovered three of Riverdale's fumbles.
"We had to come out and hit them in the mouth," Mayberry said. "Coach said we needed to come out and push them around, and that's what we did."
Schaller — who finished the night 4-of-4 for 33 yards though the air — left the game in the third quarter with a sprained right ankle. Sophomore Christian Adams — who engineered the final drive — took over and went 2-of-2 for 22 yards.
"I was as proud of (Adams) as I was anybody," McDaniel said. "He never was rattled, and he really showed some maturity for such a young kid."
After the game, several members of Oakland's student section picked the hobbled Schaller up and lifted him toward the Oakland end zone celebration.
"We've heard about this game since the day we met coach McDaniel, actually," Schaller said. "Every workout, both (the Riverdale and Oakland) helmets were posted on the door. Everyone was ready for this game. So when it finally came, we handled our emotions really well."
Scoreboard - November 25, 2011
| Teams | Score | |
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| Riverdale Maryville |
14 42 |
Final |
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