Riverside’s big second half results in victory

Riverside outscored Adamsville 21-0 in the final two quarters to pick up a 28-14 victory against the Cardinals in a district matchup last Friday night. The Cardinals held a 14-7 advantage at halftime before the Panthers put together a very dominant second half.

Adamsville took the first lead of the game midway through the first quarter. Quarterback Bradley Melton connected with Stephen Jackson for a 14-yard touchdown. Dustin Plunk added the PAT to give Adamsville a 7-0 lead with 7:21 left in the opening quarter.

After Riverside tied the game later in the first quarter, Adamsville again took the lead with another Melton touchdown pass. The scoring drive occurred in the second quarter and was culminated by a 35-yard pass from Melton to Josh Shoate. Plunk added the PAT to give the Cardinals a 14-7 lead that they maintained until halftime.

Riverside opened the scoring in the second half with an impressive scoring drive. The Panthers put together a 90-yard scoring drive in the third quarter that resulted in a 6-yard touchdown run. After the extra-point kick, the Panthers had tied the game at 14 with just 2:14 remaining in the third quarter.

The momentum certainly changed on the first play of the fourth quarter. After forcing Adamsville to punt after just three plays, Riverside broke through the Cardinal line to block a punt and give them possession at the Adamsville 21-yard line. The Panthers scored just three plays later on a 12-yard touchdown run to take their first lead of the game. The point-after failed, but Riverside still held a 20-14 advantage with 10:42 left in the game.

Adamsville’s offense again stalled on their next possession. The Cardinals fumbled the ball to the Panthers to give them solid field position at the Cardinal 43-yard line. The Panthers ran eight straight running plays and finally crossed the end zone on a fourth-and-goal play from the 1-yard line. Adamsville seemed to stop the Panther running back behind the line of scrimmage on the play, but he bounced off to cross the goal line. Riverside converted the 2-point attempt to give them a 28-14 lead with 5:25 left on the clock.

Melton completed 6-of-17 passes for 121 yards. Shoate and Jackson each had two receptions in the game. Shoate had 49 yards receiving and Jackson totaled 46 yards. Jamel Sanders had 80 yards rushing on 14 carries.

Nate Garner was the top player on defense with eight total tackles for the Cardinals. Shoate and Kamron McDaniel each had seven total stops. Jackson, Dusty Butler, and John Michael Polland each had six tackles for the Cardinals in the game.