Riverdale winning with defense

MURFREESBORO — Riverdale extended its win streak to 19 games last night — but it wasn’t pretty.

The Warriors shut out Lincoln County 27-0 despite committing 15 penalties for 122 yards and losing two fumbles.

“Our defense was outstanding tonight,” Riverdale Coach Gary Rankin said, referring to the unit that held the Falcons to 8 total yards of offense. “But our offense was just pathetic. It wasn’t our line as much as it was our backs for not catching and protecting the football.

“They teach those things in junior pro. And we didn’t do them.”

Riverdale’s Gaston Miller rushed for 158 yards on 21 carries and scored the Warriors’ first three touchdowns. Fullback Tamar Butler tacked on the final score with 6:03 left in the game.

But wide receiver Antuan Smith had three punt returns for touchdowns called back on penalties. Similar miscues also put the Warriors in third-and-deep situations throughout the game.

“That is pretty frustrating,” Smith said. “We just have to keep trying. We’ll come around. We couldn’t get going because of all of the penalties.”

While Riverdale’s offense struggled, its defense showed why it’s one of the most dominating in the state. The Warriors tied a school record for shutouts a year ago and collected their second shutout of the season. Lincoln County was held to just two first downs — one coming on a Riverdale penalty.

“Their defense was tough,” Lincoln County Coach Louis Thompson said. “We knew we would have a hard time against them and they shut us down.

“I think their defense is better than last year’s. They are quicker. We haven’t seen quickness like that.”

Miller, a Vanderbilt commitment, collected the Warriors’ first score of the night on a 10-yard run with 4:03 remaining in the first quarter.

Miller’s score came two plays after he broke a 72-yard run to take the ball to the Lincoln County 18.

Riverdale’s offense pushed the lead to 14-0 in the second quarter. The Warriors’ offensive series started with a Lincoln County pass interference penalty that took the ball to the Lincoln County 38.

After a 2-yard Butler run, Miller broke runs of 15 and 21 for the score.

The Warriors’ defense then continued to keep the Falcons’ offense grounded as Lincoln County couldn’t get anything going against Riverdale’s front line.

The Falcons’ Zeke George led the team in rushing with 8 yards — all coming on the final possession of the night.

Riverdale set the school record for consecutive wins in 1995. Riverdale had won 18 consecutive games from 2001-2002 before Lincoln County ended the streak.

“In the back of the minds we were thinking about the streak,” Miller said. “But 30 consecutive wins is our ultimate goal. We want to be back-to-back state champions. To get there we need to win next week to break the school record.”