Riverdale needs last drive to survive Cookeville

COOKEVILLE — Cookeville pushed Riverdale to the brink of elimination last night.

But in the end, a trio of Riverdale seniors made key plays to advance the Warriors to their sixth consecutive Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association Class 5A semifinal.

Mr. Football finalist Gaston Miller scored on a 3-yard run with 1:15 left in the game to give the Warriors a 28-21 victory — their third in a row against the Cavaliers (11-2) in the playoffs.

Miller’s score came a play after senior Kit Hartsfield broke a 19-yard run up the middle of the Cookeville defense to the Cavalier 3-yard line.

“The last touchdown drive was courage and guts and determination and what we hope our team is made of,” Riverdale Coach Gary Rankin said. “I think it showed some of our heart and desire. When we got down we could have hung our heads, but we didn’t.”

Miller said the Warriors’ offense was determined to keep the game out of overtime.

“We knew what we had to do,” Miller said. “We had 2:42 left, so we knew we needed big plays there.”

The Warriors (13-0) would then clinch the win when senior Antwaun Smith intercepted Zac Hennigan’s pass with less than 15 seconds remaining in the game.

Riverdale broke a 14-14 tie at halftime by simply letting Miller run with the ball. The Vanderbilt commitment finished with 27 carries on the night.

The senior tailback carried the ball six of the Warriors’ first seven offensive plays in the second half to bring the ball to the Cookeville 12 when he accumulated 40 of his game-high 171 yards.

Hartsfield then ended the drive when he broke a tackle at the line of scrimmage and barreled in for the 12-yard TD run.

But Cookeville didn’t go away thanks to a series of miscues. The Cavaliers were forced to punt the ball back to the Warriors on fourth-and-14 from midfield, but got the ball back two plays later when Tyler Wolf intercepted Scott Thomas’ pass. Two plays later Hartsfield stripped the ball from Shane Bates at the Cookeville 37.

However, again Riverdale’s offense turned the ball over when Hennigan recovered Miller’s fumble, the Warriors’ fifth of the game.

“We knew we had to go out and force turnovers,” Hennigan said. “We had to get field position and get the momentum. We couldn’t capitalize on them early.”

The Cavaliers took the final Riverdale turnover 67 yards on 11 plays as Wolf ended the drive with a 6-yard score with 2:43 left in the game.

The Warriors jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead to open the game as they quickly went 56 yards on five plays. Miller scored on a 17-yard run after he did a 360 at the Cookeville 3 to avoid a defender.

Cookeville then answered with 14 straight points as Hennigan hit Wolf for a 23-yard score after the Cavaliers stripped the ball out of Smith’s hands on a punt return. Bates later gave Cookeville a 14-7 lead on a 1-yard run. The seven-point deficit marked the first time all season that Riverdale had trailed in a game.

But the Warriors answered again as Miller capped a 10-play, 69-yard drive with a 6-yard run to the corner of the end zone for the score.

“I didn’t get real concerned,” Miller said. “We made some turnovers early but we overcame that.”