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Warriors
roll past Smyrna 35-0
By Steve Heath
DNJ Prep Editor
With a season-full of wins by 30 points or more, unbeaten top-ranked Riverdale wondered how it would react if and when a close game occurred. It got that close game, at least for one half, Friday before pulling away in a 35-0 victory over No. 8 Smyrna (9-3) in the second round of the Class 5A Football Playoffs at Tomahawk Stadium. Riverdale (12-0) will play host to Cookeville (11-1) in a quarterfinal game Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. When Smyrna took the kickoff to start the second half, it marked the latest a team had been within one score of the Warriors all season. But shortly after that kickoff the game changed, and the Bulldogs found themselves in the same place Warrior opponents have been all season. After stopping Smyrna on the opening series of the second half, Riverdale took just one play to score. Junior tailback Gaston Miller, who finished the game with 20 carries for 203 yards, broke free down the right side line for an 80-yard touchdown. The Warriors scored on their first four possessions of the second half, getting two long runs from junior fullback Tamar Butler and a touchdown pass from one Mr. Football finalist to another, as senior quarterback Dave Thomas connected on a 1-yard strike to Chris Perkins. Riverdale ended its scoring on a 17-yard interception return by junior Antwone Smith. "In the locker room at halftime we felt the defense did what it was supposed to do, but we felt offensively we made too many mistakes," Miller said. In the first half, Riverdale lost two fumbles and had a pass intercepted in the end zone and a touchdown called back due to a holding penalty, much of it due to an inspired Smyrna defense. "We made some bad mistakes in the first half," said Riverdale coach Gary Rankin. "That's my fault; we shouldn't have made that many mistakes. That's probably the worst half we've played, and I was leery of that. It really hadn't happened to us (this season), but we rebounded from it." Riverdale picked it up on the offensive end and continued its defensive dominance, holding the Bulldogs scoreless and recording a school single-season record eighth shutout. The defense hasn't given up a touchdown in 42 quarters, dating back to a Sept. 3 65-20 regular-season win at Smyrna. "It feels good when you go out on defense knowing your helping your team then getting a chance to score points on offense," said Butler, a starter at linebacker and fullback, who had touchdown runs of 36 and 46 yards. He finished the game with 101 rushing yards. After going three plays and out its first three series of the game, Smyrna drove to the Riverdale 29, late in the first half. A two-yard loss on a third down pass play put the ball on the 31, but the extra two yards as well as a strong crosswind kept accurate field-goal kicker Michael Hinson from putting the Bulldogs up 3-0. Three of Riverdale's first-half mistakes came early in the second quarter. Miller fumbled after a 19-yard run to give the Bulldogs the football on their own 15. On the Warriors' next possession, Thomas took off for an 18-yard gain to the Smyrna 21. Butler's apparent 21-yard touchdown run was called back due to a holding penalty and on the next play Thomas was intercepted in the end zone by Bulldog senior Will Forkhum. "We never could finish anything," said Smyrna coach Philip Shadowens. "We had some opportunities for some big plays in the first half, but we just couldn't finish anything. We had to be effective throwing the football and we weren't effective throwing it." |
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