Riverdale had to kick off their season on the road on Friday, but they showed no ill effects. They breezed by the Estero Wildcats on the road to the tune of 42-14. The game was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point the Raiders had established a 22 point advantage.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Riverdale to victory, but perhaps none more so than Theodis Harris Jr., who rushed for 24 yards and two touchdowns, and also threw for 109 yards on nine of 15 attempts. Another back making a difference was Lovensky Blanchard, who rushed for 92 yards on only nine carries.
Another reason for the win was Riverdale's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for eight sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Kaleb Mcintyre and Miguel Clarke Jr who racked up four sacks between them. Latroy Pender Jr. was another major factor on D, forcing a fumble, making four total tackles, and defending three passes which he returned for a touchdown.
Despite the defeat, Estero saw an underclassman step up: Maddox Stewart threw for 210 yards and two touchdowns. Owen Maurizi also played a phenomenal game despite the final result: he picked up 87 receiving yards.
Riverdale will look to take advantage of their home-field for the first time this season as they take on South Fort Myers at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. As for Estero, they are packing up and heading out on the road for their first away game this season. they face off against Aubrey Rogers at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
