Things looked bleak for Riverside’s football team after an 0-2 start to the season. The Pirates have quickly turned around their fortunes, though.
Riverside went on the road Friday night and knocked off Northridge, the ninth-ranked Division IV team in the state, 28-22 in a Three Rivers Conference game.
It was the third win in a row for the Pirates (3-2, 2-0), while the Polar Bears suffered their first loss of the season.
“I could not be more proud of these kids,” said Riverside head coach Bryce Hodge. “We battled through a lot of adversity at the start of the season, but these kids just kept putting the work in and are getting better every week. This is a completely different team than it was in Week 1. As a coach, nothing makes you more proud than seeing your team improve from week to week.”
Riverside got the job done on both sides of the ball against the Polar Bears.
The Pirates ran for 166 yards and passed for 136. Defensively, they allowed just 207 yards.
“We still have room to get better, but everything is clicking right now,” said Hodge. “We want to be balanced and efficient on offense, and we are doing that. Defensively, we are flying around and making plays. We are playing really solid team football.”
The opening quarter Friday was scoreless, but the second quarter was much more eventful.
The Pirates opened the scoring at the 9:43 mark of the second period on a 38-yard touchdown pass from Myles Platfoot to Simon Godwin. Isaac Bender’s extra point kick made it 7-0.
Jeremy Henry, the TRC rushing leader who came in with over 715 yards, scored on a 5-yard run with 7:15 left in the first half. The conversion attempt failed, though, leaving the Pirates up 7-6.
In a scoring flurry just before halftime, the Pirates scored two touchdowns in less than a minute.
With 55 seconds to go until the break, Landon Purtee caught a 4-yard TD pass from Platfoot to give the Pirates a 14-6 lead.
On Northridge’s ensuing possession, Riverside’s Warren Shockey picked off a pass.
Riverside took advantage of the turnover as Platfoot connected with Godwin for a 4-yard scoring play with nine seconds left on the second-quarter clock. That gave the Pirates a 21-6 lead at halftime.
Neither team scored in the third quarter.
Riverside pushed its lead to 28-6 at the 9:01 mark of the fourth quarter on a 14-yard TD run by Shockey.
The Polar Bears used a 13-yard TD run and a two-point conversion to cut the Riverside lead to 28-14 with 2:14 remaining in the game.
Northridge closed to within six points with one minute to go after a 36-yard fumble return for a touchdown.
However, Riverside was able to hang on for the win.
Platfoot was very efficient throwing the ball as he went 10-of-13 for 136 yards and the three touchdowns. He also rushed for 78 yards on 14 carries.
Godwin caught six passes for 93 yards, while Shockey had 72 rushing yards on 28 carries.
Defensively for the Pirates, Skyler Hudson had six tackles including one for loss, Godwin had six tackles, Shockey recorded four tackles and Dominik Stotler had five tackles and recovered a fumble.
The Pirates are back in action Friday at home for homecoming against Troy Christian.