Warriors face No. 3 Blackman in next round

BY ADAM SPARKS • This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it • November 7, 2009

Riverdale returned to the playoffs with a bang Friday night.

The sixth-ranked Warriors (9-2) steam-rolled Coffee County 48-0 in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs after a one-year hiatus from the postseason.

"This time of the year, if you're not eager, you are not going to stay around long," Riverdale coach Ron Aydelott said. "But I was real pleased. In the playoffs, you'd better be up to play every week."

Riverdale will play at No. 3 Blackman next Friday in the second round in a rematch of the Blaze's 14-13 overtime victory in the regular-season finale.

Riverdale sophomore running back Adam Davenport had 82 yards and three rushing touchdowns on just eight carries. Senior quarterback Cody West passed for 102 yards and one TD and ran for another score.

"With the dry weather, we're going to be able to mix things up," West said. "I think we played pretty well, but we're not satisfied."

Coffee County (3-8) never threatened to score and gained only 19 yards on 20 offensive plays in the first half. The Red Raiders gained only two first downs and 31 total yards on the night.

Riverdale reached paydirt on each of its first six possessions, and the Warriors did not discriminate in their methods of scoring, especially early on.

Both the pass and run carried Riverdale across the field in the first half. One scoring drive took 14 plays, while another needed only one snap.

"We just wanted to hurry up and score and get the offense going as quickly as possible," Davenport said. "I don't know if we knew it would go like this, but we wanted to play well."

Riverdale drove 58 yards on its opening drive, capped by Davenport's 15-yard TD run.

The Warriors then marched 72 yards in 14 plays over 5:56 on a drive that included West's 16-yard pass to David Miles-Pepper to the 2-yard line. Davenport scored on the next play.

Riverdale's defense stuffed Coffee County on the ensuing series and forced the Red Raiders to shank a 15-yard punt.

On the next snap, West connected on a 30-yard TD toss to senior Erik Wallin, who had to wrestle the ball away from teammate Marcellous Odom, who was also open in the end zone.

"Marcellous ran the right route, and I ran mine a little wrong. My post (route) was a little sharp, and I got right behind him," said Wallin of his first career TD catch. "It was my fault, but we were both there and I came down with it. I apologized to Marcellous for taking the ball away. But it was a touchdown, so it was all good."

West hit Dequinton Sherrill for a 36-yard pass to start the next possession, and West scored on a 9-yard run soon after to stretch Riverdale's lead to 28-0 at halftime.

Riverdale continued its scoring spree with back-to-back TD drives in the third quarter. Sherrill finished off a 61-yard drive with a 5-yard TD run.

Then after Riverdale blocked Coffee County's ensuing punt, Davenport scored for a third time on a 24-yard run to put the Warriors ahead 41-0.

Freshman Dylan Woodruff capped the scoring with a 14-yard TD run on his lone carry of the night.

Coffee County 0

Riverdale 48

Coffee County 0 0 0 0 — 0

Riverdale 7 21 13 7 — 48

First quarter

R - Davenport 15 run (Powell kick)

Second quarter

R - Davenport 15 run (Powell kick)

R - Wallin 30 pass from West (Powell kick)

R - West 9 run (Powell kick)

Third quarter

R - Sherrill 5 run (kick missed)

R - Davenport 24 run (Powell kick)

Fourth quarter

R - Woodruff 14 run (Gilmore kick)

CC R

First downs 2 18

Rushes-yards 28-31 34-213

Passing yards 0 102

Comp-Att-Int 0-6-0 6-10-0

Fumbles-lost 3-0 0-0

Punts-Avg. 7-24.6 2-33.0

Penalties-yards 2-20 3-25

Rushing: C - Keeling 11-19, Murray 1-1, Ferrell 1-0, Manus 9-13, Adcock 2-(-1), Brazier 3-(-3), Baumstein 1-2; R - Davenport 8-82, Perry 1-(-1), Burns 3-8, Odom 3-10, Sherrill 5-44, Parker 1-14, West 4-16, Gaines 5-14, Overton 1-3, Smithson 1-(-2), McCoy 1-11, Woodruff 1-14.

Passing: C - Murray 0-6-0-0; R - West 6-10-0-102.

Receiving: C - None; R - Davenport 2-1, Wallin 1-30, Sherrill 1-36, Miles-Peppers 2-35.