NEW MADISON — Riverside’s offense has received a lot of attention this fall behind a powerful offensive line and star running back Kale Long. The Pirates’ defense showed here Friday night that it can be a force as well.
Riverside forced four turnovers and Long had another gritty performance in a stunning 14-12 victory over host Tri-Village in Division VII regional quarterfinal football game.
“Our defense has been a bend but don’t break unit and they did the same thing tonight,” said Riverside head coach Bryce Hodge. “We are facing a very good offense and we told our guys that they would make some plays, but we were able to come through with some huge defensive stops when we needed them.”
Tri-Village, ranked second in the Associated Press Division VII state poll, came in averaging over 50 points per game.
“I couldn’t be more proud of these guys,” said Hodge. “They showed tremendous character tonight. Our slogan this week was ‘fight’ because we knew we were going to have to fight all night. Our guys fought with everything they had.”
Riverside (7-1) advances to play perennial power Marion Local in the regional semifinal round Friday in Maria Stein.
Long added another memorable chapter to his storybook senior season. He scored on a 71-touchdown run on the Pirates’ second offensive play of the game and finished with 185 yards on 24 carries to set a new single-season school rushing record.
He now has 1,966 yards and 22 touchdowns on the season.
“We knew it would be tough to slow them down, but Mother Nature helped us some and we were able to make some big plays on defense,” said Long, who also piled up 11 tackles including two for loss from his linebacker spot. “Their offense is potent but we came up with some big turnovers and once we got the momentum we just took off with it.”
Riverside landed a double shot of jabs in the opening minutes of the game.
Tri-Village drove deep into Pirates territory on the first offensive series of the game, but Riverside snuffed out the drive when Landon Stewart picked off a Layne Sarver pass in the end zone.
On the ensuing series for the Pirates, Long went for a 9-yard run on first down and then ripped off his 71-yard jaunt for a TD. Long also scored on the conversion run to give the Pirates an 8-0 lead with 6:35 left in the first quarter.
“That was absolutely huge,” said Hodge. “Landon made a big defensive play and then we were able to come right out and get that TD from Kale. It’s nice to have the leading rusher in the state on our side.”
For the complete story, pick up Saturday’s edition of the Examiner.