Lake County Sentinel
Riverside tames Mustangs 36-14
BY JOEY SCHNEIDER
STAFF
(PAINESVILLE TOWNSHIP, OH) - There was nothing but smiles on the Painesville Riverside Beaver's players, stu-dents, and parents faces after a first-round win over Maple Heights Mustangs 36-14, advancing to the next round of the high school football playoffs.
Riverside won the toss and elected to defer to the second half. Maple Heights received the ball first to start the game.
After a quick three and out, senior running back Jason Mackey started the night off strong as on their first play from scrimmage he took a handoff from senior quarterback Mikey Maloney found a hole up the middle and took it 73-yards for the first score of the night. After a successful 2-point conversion, Riverside led 8-0.
Senior wide receiver/defensive back Brady McKnight would intercept the ball on Maple Heights next drive and the Beavers Maloney would then find McKnight wide open a few plays later streaking down the sideline for a 50-yard touchdown. After the extra point Riverside extended the lead to 15-0.
Maple Heights showed signs of life as Sophomore quarterback Kindall Brown connected with senior wide receiver Myles Russell to extend their next drive, on-ly for it to once again stall, and Riverside to blow the game open as Jason Mackey would run for another huge touchdown run. This time a 69-yard dash to the end zone with 21 seconds left in the first quarter and the Beavers leading 22-0.
Midway through the second quarter Maple Heights showed their fighting spirit as Kindall Brown found a wide-open Myles Russell for 34-yards to put the Mustangs inside the 10-yard line. Brown would then run it in from six yards out to cut into the lead. After a failed two-point attempt Riverside held the lead 22-6.
Jason Mackey would again break free in the fourth quarter for a 25-yard touch-down run, his third of the game running the score to 29-6. Mackey finished the game with 198 rushing yards on 11 carries and three touchdowns.
Maple Heights would not give up though as Kindall Brown threw a pass over the middle to senior wide receiver Dinero Locklear for a 69-yard touchdown. This time the Mustangs would convert the two-point try as Brown found senior Darion Rice for the extra two points with 5:17 left in the game.
Riverside marched right down the field and Mikey Maloney would finish the drive as he dove in the end zone after an eight-yard quarterback sweep for the score again expanding the lead to 36-14.
Riverside's senior defensive end and University of Washington commit Dom Kirks sealed the win with a sack, Kirks third sack of the game and the Riverside Beavers advance to round two of the playoffs.
After the game Riverside coach Dave Bors said, "That is a tough team over there." "We executed well on the offense, but still left some points on the board, we need to work on our consistency" "Our offensive line was tough, they are continuing to get better, but again we need to focus on consistency." "I'm proud of our guys though they played tough and never stopped continuing to battle."
Riverside will again have another home game next week in round two of the playoffs. Their opponent is TBD.
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POSTED 10/28/2023 00:52
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Photo by Joey Schneider
