Fast start carries Riverside football past Mayfield, 58-14
Sep. 23—The Riverside Beavers are going to be a very scary football team in the playoffs if they reach a level that makes them better than they were Sept. 23 when they ruined Mayfield's homecoming.
The Beavers dominated the Wildcats in every phase of the game to trounce their hosts, 58-14, at Wildcat Stadium. One week earlier, Mayfield put up a fight with Chardon before falling to the Hilltoppers, 31-14.
Chardon beat Mayfield, now 3-3 overall and 0-2 in the WRC, with 198 rushing yards. The Beavers took the aerial route to the end zone.
"We still have a lot of room to grow," Riverside coach Dave Bors said Friday night after the Beavers crushed Mayfield, 58-14. And he meant it. @NHPreps @_RHSFootball pic.twitter.com/Fn4uBrOvIP
— Jeff Schudel (@jsproinsider) September 24, 2022
Six-foot-1 junior quarterback Mikey Maloney threw a 55-yard touchdown pass to another junior, Brady McKnight, with 6:10 left in the first quarter. By then, the Beavers already had a five-point lead on a 32-yard field goal by Sean Kerwood and a safety on a muffed punt by the Wildcats.
The Beavers forced a punt and the Maloney-to-McKnight combination struck again, this time for 54 yards. It looked like a replay of the first touchdown as McKnight sprinted past the Mayfield secondary outside the numbers on the left side of the field.
Riverside quarterback Mikey Maloney hooks up with Brady McNight on. 42-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter, and the Beaver sideline celebrates. @_RHSFootball @NHPreps pic.twitter.com/JXkTGZgxai
— Jeff Schudel (@jsproinsider) September 23, 2022
Riverside, 5-1 overall and 3-0 in the WRC, scored four more touchdowns in the second quarter to take a 48-0 lead before Wildcats senior running back Anthony Santoro scored from the 3 with 30 seconds left in the first half.
"We had a nice team meeting. Our kids are hungry. They'll be ready to go next week," Mayfield coach Ross Bandiera said after the Wildcats lost, 58-14, to Riverside. @NHPreps pic.twitter.com/H3JXxANGjU
— Jeff Schudel (@jsproinsider) September 24, 2022
"We've gotten out of the gate pretty quickly for the most part, which just shows these guys are ready to go and take things very seriously," Beavers coach Dave Bors said after the game. "It kind of snowballed on Mayfield. That's definitely a good football team. The score for sure is not indicative of the difference between the two programs. But credit to our guys. They were ready to go and it showed."
Anthony Howard returned a kick 92 yards for Mayfield and then Riverside drove the Wildcats backward in a goal line stand. Riverside 34, Mayfield 0. 7:09 left second quarter. @NHPreps @_RHSFootball pic.twitter.com/sb5mtp8TI7
— Jeff Schudel (@jsproinsider) September 23, 2022
The Beavers scored every conceivable way in their explosive second quarter. Jake Elly scored on a 66-yard punt return and Maloney scored on a 31-yard touchdown run. Maloney hooked up with McKnight again, this time on a 10-yard to the right side of the end zone for a 41-0 lead with 4:09 left in the half.
The Wildcats came out throwing after McKnight's third touchdown, and Riverside linebacker Cameron Simpson was there to pick it off at the Mayfield 20. Simpson returned the interception for a touchdown just seven seconds after McKnight scored.
"We told (our players) after the game, there's still plenty to work on," Bors said. "That's what we have to wrap our heads around. This happened tonight. It worked out and we're pleased, but there are times when we were stopped. There were times when we missed assignments. There are things we need to get better on. That's a darn good sign that we still have room to grow."
Simpson's interception wasn't the only defensive highlight of the night, either.
Anthony Howard, a six-foot junior receiver for the Wildcats, returned the kick following McKnight's second touchdown 92 yards to inside the Riverside 5. A Mayfield touchdown would have cut the Riverside lead to 20-7 and maybe given the Wildcats some life.
The Beaver defense wouldn't let that happen. The Wildcats tried to punch the ball into the end zone, but ended up turning the ball over on downs after losing three yards on four plays.
"That's the second time in two years they were more prepared than we were," Mayfield coach Ross Baniera said. "That's on me. They started fast. They were prepared and our kids weren't tonight. I take full blame for that. Our kids will be ready to go next week (against South)."
Each team scored a touchdown in the second half. Joe Bruno scored from the 3 for the Beavers. Santoro scored on a 21-yard run for the Wildcats.
