Warriors back in the 4-5A playoff chase
The Warriors proved they are still a force to be reckoned with, racking up 35 first-quarter points and coasting to a 42-7 victory over visiting Lebanon Friday night at Tomahawk Stadium.
The win was the second straight for the Warriors, who stumbled out of the gate to a 2-3 start, but now sit at 4-3 overall, 2-2 in Region 4-5A, and right in the middle of the Region 4 playoff chase. Lebanon fell to 2-4 overall and 1-3 in region play.
Senior running back Aaron Ebalaroza led Riverdale with 101 yards on eight carries with two touchdowns — including a 70-yard dash on the Warriors' second play from scrimmage to give Riverdale a 7-0 lead just 54 seconds into the game.
"We really wanted to come out strong," said Ebalaroza, who also had a nine-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Cody West in the second quarter to extend the Warriors' lead to 42-7.
Everybody was kind of surprised there in the first quarter when we looked up and were already ahead by that much," Ebalaroza added, But we knew we were going to have to do it against a team like Lebanon, because they're aren't going to roll over. They were out there going hard the whole game."
In the first quarter alone, Ebalaroza and backfield mates Trey Oliver and DeQuinton Sherrill combined for 207 yards rushing on just 11 carries with four touchdowns. Each back had touchdown runs of more than 20 yards, as Oliver answered Lebanon's lone touchdown with a 66-yard jaunt on Riverdale's ensuing play, and Sherrill raced 23 yards for a score to cap another one-play drive just 23 seconds later.
For the game, the Warriors finished with 268 yards rushing on 37 carries.
"I can't explain it," said Riverdale coach Ron Aydelott, whose team has outscored opponents 132-28 in three home games this year. "We had a good week of practice, and there's usually a connection there. But this was a good win for us."
The evening was far from a good one for a Lebanon offensive unit that struggled from its opening possession and finished with just 141 yards of total offense. The Blue Devils gained 17 yards on their first two plays from scrimmage, but on the third, Riverdale corner Joey Lee picked off Matthew Maynard at the Lebanon 49 and returned it all the way for a 14-0 Warrior lead just 2:11 into the game.
From there, struggles in the passing game limited the Lebanon offense to one big play as Maynard misfired on his next nine passes, the most costly of which on the Blue Devils' third possession when Jacob Maynard got behind the Riverdale defense, but could not run down Matthew's pass.
Maynard, who led the Blue Devils with 90 yards on 13 carries, finally got Lebanon on the board when he broke three Riverdale tackles and dashed 69 yards down the left sideline for the score with 2:03 left in the first. However, the Warriors answered right back with Oliver's touchdown run.
"We didn't come out ready to play," said Lebanon coach Bobby Brown. "And those two plays at the beginning were huge after they got the long run and then we throw the pick for a touchdown.
"But Riverdale's a good football team, they came out and ran and blocked and tackled well."
Scoreboard - November 25, 2011
| Teams | Score | |
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| Riverdale Maryville |
14 42 |
Final |
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