FROM THE HUDDLE: It was a great week to be a Riverside Rebel!

It was a crazy but fun week. Due to us losing our original Homecoming opponent, Meeteetse, we were forced to move our Homecoming week up to last week. 

On top of that, we had Outdoor Education week at the middle school. Our schedule was extremely chaotic, and our boys had plenty of excuses to lose focus, but they stayed dialed in. We had probably one of the best weeks of practice all season, and it showed on Friday afternoon notching a 39-28 win.

Before kickoff, we were honored to have Landon Noble serve as our honorary captain. Landon has been an amazing supporter of all Riverside sports, and we felt it was only fitting to have him be a part of our team as we officially opened the new Jim Gibbs Field on Homecoming. We love you, Landon!

Hanna-Elk Mountain (HEM) is a good football team that has shown it can put points on the board, so for us to hold them to 28 was a fantastic defensive effort. 

While we still have many things to improve on, seeing our defense buckle down and make that push was incredible. We have dealt with injuries to key players this year, so seeing our upperclassmen step up and take on leadership roles was vital in pointing this team in the right direction.

Leading us defensively was Jaxson Womack, who tallied ten tackles, a pass breakup, and a fumble recovery. Alan Landis played the best football of his career, recording eight tackles and a forced fumble. Many of the things Alan did won’t show up on a stat sheet, but he was fundamentally sound and consistently put us in great defensive situations. Rounding out our defensive leaders, Corbyn Godfrey posted 11 tackles, while Gavyn Cervantes added eight tackles and a pass breakup.

Offensively, we put together a balanced attack with five different Rebels finding the end zone. Womack led the way on the ground, rushing for 105 yards and a touchdown. Rocco Huggins added 55 rushing yards and a score, while Godfrey chipped in 56 rushing yards and a touchdown. Kenneth McClure turned in a monster performance, rushing for 25 yards and a score, catching 3 passes for 61 yards, and returning an onside kick 42 yards for a touchdown. Xander Dannar also hauled in 2 receptions for 46 yards and a touchdown.

This upcoming week, we take on the Kelly Walsh JV squad at home on Thursday at 4:00 PM. We hope to keep this momentum going and get our record back to .500. We need everyone packing the stands just like we had last week bringing that energy!

Go Rebels!