Riverdale wins, sets new school record

STEVE HEATH
sheath@dnj.com

Photos Stats

It wasn’t the most dominating of its school-record 20 straight wins.

The Riverdale Warriors have the La Vergne Wolverines to thank for that.

The Warriors, ranked No. 1 in the state Associated Press poll and No. 24 nationally by PrepsNation, defeated their Region 4-5A and Rutherford County foe 28-20 at Tomahawk Stadium Friday.

“We set a school record, but it wasn’t quite as memorable as we wanted it to be,” said Riverdale senior fullback/linebacker Kit Hartsfield.

Riverdale went 15-0 in winning the 2004 BlueCross Bowl and improved to 5-0 — 3-0 in 4-5A — with the win. The old record of 19 was set by the 1994-95 Warriors, which also had an undefeated state championship season followed by a 4-0 start to the 1995 season. Their streak was snapped by Chattanooga Baylor in game No. 20.

The eight-point margin of victory is the closest of the 20 games. The closest score prior to Friday was a 42-28 Warrior win over Oak Ridge in the 2004 semifinals. It was also the closest game in history between Riverdale and La Vergne. Riverdale owns a 9-0 overall mark in the series. In 2002, the Wolverines’ first season under current head coach Don Thomas, the Warriors won 26-14.

Not until Riverdale senior Phillip Stevenson recovered an onside kick with 40 seconds left in the fourth quarter were the Warriors certain a school-record would be set.

“I don’t see anybody tearing down a goal post or showing much excitement,” said Riverdale coach Gary Rankin, more concerned with his team’s play the past two weeks, rather than any record. “It’s a good accomplishment, but it’s going to be broke pretty soon if we don’t start playing at a smarter level.”

La Vergne (3-2, 1-2) junior quarterback Andrew Rodriguez connected with Chris Grey on a fourth-down touchdown pass — Rodriquez’s second fourth-down TD strike of the game — to cut the score to 28-20 with 41.3 seconds remaining.

Rodriguez threw for 208 yards and two touchdowns. The Wolverines were also aided by numerous Warrior penalties. Riverdale had 12 penalties for 112 yards. In a win last week over Lincoln County, it had 13 penalties for 102 yards.

Riverdale running back Gaston Miller was too much for the Wolverine defense, though it did force the Vanderbilt commitment to lose two fumbles. Miller scored three touchdowns and rushed for 222 yards on 26 carries.

“I’m very proud of our team,” said Thomas. “ Our team is a team, and that’s something that’s been lacking in the north part of Rutherford County. These guys play together and love each other, and that’s what football is about.

“Our offense played well against a defense that doesn’t give up that many points. We’ve got to keep fighting and battling. This is game No. 5, and we have five more to go.”

Info Center

Links

Opponents' Local Paper and Web Sites

Christiana Cougar Football

High School Football Database

Media

Daily News Journal

The Tennessean

WGNS Radio

'Boro Weather