Jeremy McClain’s first-half
highlight reel was more than enough for the Riverdale Warriors.
The junior halfback, getting his
first career playoff start, scored three first-half touchdowns, two in a
26-point second quarter, in the fourth-ranked Warriors 54-3 win over
Warren County (4-7) in a first-round game in the Tennessee Secondary
School Athletic Association State Football Playoffs at Tomahawk Stadium
Friday.
Riverdale (10-1) will play host to
Lincoln County (8-3) in a second-round game Nov. 10 at Tomahawk Stadium.
The Warriors beat the Falcons 39-7 Sept. 8 at Lincoln County.
“Jeremy’s had quite a year and we
hope he’s a seasoned veteran by now,” said Riverdale coach Ron
Aydelott. “We expect big plays out of Jeremy. He plays a position that
we expect big plays. Hopefully he’s got a few more left.”
McClain’s 11-yard touchdown run
with just 1:21 in the first quarter started the scoring and he added a
13-yard scoring run and a diving grab in the end zone on a 29-yard pass
from senior quarterback Scott Thomas with just over two minutes remaining
in the half.
“He played great tonight and that
was a great catch. I overthrew him a little bit and he just stretched out
for it and made a great play,” said Thomas.
McClain added a fourth touchdown, on
an 8-yard pass from Thomas, in the second half and intercepted a pass late
in the game.
“It feels good being a big part of
the win,” said McClain, who backed up Gaston Miller, now at Vanderbilt,
last season, and rushed for 821 yards during the regular season. “
Warren County had cut it to 7-3 on a
27-yard field goal by Tony Garibaldi with 9:49 remaining in the first
half, but the Warriors dominated the remainder of the game.
While McClain was making the
highlights on offense, senior linebacker Ben Atakpu was doing it on
defense.
Atakpu had a second-quarter fumble
recovery to set up a short 29-yard drive finishing with a Thomas 6-yard
run, on fourth down. To end the half, Atakpu intercepted a Kyle Mullican
pass and returned it 58 yards for a touchdown.
The Riverdale defense forced six
turnovers, including four interceptions.
After a 39-game losing streak,
Warren County, for the first time in school, history qualified for the
playoffs in back-to-back seasons, both times eliminated in the first
round.
The Warriors rushed for 380 yards
and added 80 more through the air. It was the most passing yards since the
season opening when the Warriors had 120 passing yards in a 21-14 win over
Siegel.
Thomas rushed for 152 yards. It was
his eighth 100-plus yard rushing game of the season.
— Steve Heath, 278-5169
