It was a wet and wild kickoff game for the Riverdale Warriors at the Middle Tennessee Football Classic at MTSU. Torrential rains off and on during pre-game warm ups gave way clear skies at kickoff. And it didn’t take long for the Warriors to make a statement that this year was different.
Warriors, Weather Make Statement In First Quarter
Boom! That’s how it started ,,, Georgia Tech commit Gentry Bonds returns the opening kickoff 50 +Yards. That led to a 25 yard FG, bobbled snap and a turnover. It looked like it might be a fight. It was. It was just one sided.
The Warriors defense smothered Ooltewah. Then Special Teams thought they weren’t getting enough attention . About midway through the 1st quarter, Ooltewah tried a FG. Michael Scruggs came in with a beautiful block that Kyle Sothern picked up and walked in for a Warriors TD making the score 7-0.
And lightning flashed, and thunder rolled, and the heavens opened up. Both teams were sent to the locker rooms. After a 30 minute break (and a couple of delicious hot dogs for this writer), play resumed, and the Warriors came out serious. QB Christian Souffront started the fireworks with a 30+ yard run that sets up a 12 yard QB keeper and gives Riverdale a 14-0 lead to end the first quarter.
Warriors Bring In Kriesky Era By Finishing Strong
It was Coach Kriesky’s first game as Head Coach for the Warriors. If Special Teams and Defense are to carry this team to the playoffs, they were clicking on all cylinders Saturday. Brady Stokes was the star of the second quarter for Riverdale as he returned a punt for 40 + yards for a TD . On the very next play Stokes intercepted the Owls Thurman at the Owls 32.
Marqwell Odom wasn’t to be outdone. On the next two series, he intercepted Ooltewah. Odom would later pitch in on offense with a 33 yard TD catch.
At the half the score was 34-0 Riverdale. The Warriors D had held Ooltewah to no first downs and a total of -4 yards.
The second half saw the offense get more involved as Saivon Davies went 50+ yards on the QB draw in the third quarter. It was all Warriors until some late Owls success in the fourth. Final score: 47-14 Warriors.
We talked to Coach Kriesky after the game, but due to equipment malfunction the video is unavailable. In a nutshell, Coach was obviously excited for the team . There were things to be worked on and a short time to do it. Franklin comes calling on Friday night and is “a very good football team”. Kickoff is at 7:00 p.m. and is our Price’s Collision Center Game of the Week.
[…] Riverdale put it to Ooltewah in game one of the Middle Tennessee Football Classic at MTSU Saturday night. Game two featured the Oakland Patriots as they took on Jackson North. There was plenty of rain and scoring as Oakland began their first steps to a return to the playoffs. […]
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