Oakland is 9-1 against Riverdale since November of 2015, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Oakland Patriots will head out on the road to face off against the Riverdale Warriors at 7:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Two teams were on the hunt for playoff glory, but only Oakland walked away with it. They blew past Mount Juliet 24-2. Given Oakland's advantage in MaxPreps' Tennessee football rankings (they are ranked eighth, while Mount Juliet is ranked 52nd), the result on Friday wasn't entirely unexpected.
Daune Morris continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 145 yards and three touchdowns on only 15 carries. Morris really tore up the turf during one magnificent 75-yard run.
Meanwhile, Riverdale had already won seven in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 33.3 points), and they went ahead and made it eight on Friday. They were the clear victor by a 42-21 margin over Cookeville.
Riverdale's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Braden Graham, who threw for 292 yards and three touchdowns while completing 75.9% of his passes. Jaylen Thompson got in on the action too, converting a pick into a touchdown.
Oakland's win was their fifth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 10-2. It's not like the team was facing easy opposition over that stretch either, as it included 10-2 Haywood and 9-3 Ravenwood (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 64.8% over those games). As for Riverdale, their win bumped their record up to 10-2.
Oakland and Riverdale were almost perfectly matched up in their previous matchup back in October, but Oakland suffered an agonizing 25-24 loss. Can Oakland avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
