By Chris Wade, courtesy of HD Media
Quincy – A weather delay occurred before the start of the Riverside-Woodrow Wilson game, and once play began, the Flying Eagles provided their own thunder and lightning.
Woodrow Wilson used a ground-and-pound run game along with explosive plays to score 28 points in the first quarter and held off a second-half Warrior rally to escape with a 31-28 road win over Riverside in the season opener for both teams.
On the opening kickoff, Flying Eagles deep man Tylai Kimble used his speed to return it 89 yards for a touchdown to give Woodrow Wilson a quick 7-0 lead just 14 seconds into the game.
After a three-and-out and short punt followed by Riverside, the Flying Eagles struck quickly for another score, driving 39 yards on seven plays, all runs. Matt Moore capped it off with a 15-yard touchdown run and 14-0 lead with 6:56 left in the first quarter.
Woodrow Wilson successfully executed an onside kick, setting itself up inside Riverside territory again. Seven more running plays and 46 yards led to a 11-yard touchdown run by Nate Grayton and the Flying Eagles led 21-0 with 5:16 remaining in the opening quarter.
After a Riverside turnover on downs, Woodrow Wilson struck quickly again, as Kimble took a handoff and scampered 59 yards for another touchdown with 1:53 remaining in the first quarter.
In all, the Flying Eagles scored four touchdowns in the opening quarter and led 28-0. Woodrow Wilson ran 16 plays, all runs, accounting for 152 yards on the ground, not counting the 89-yard kickoff return to begin the game.
“We have to come ready to play,” Riverside coach Alex Daugherty said. “We started the half worse than I’ve ever started a half, and take full responsibility. I thought we were ready to play because we had a great week of practice.”
Things looked to be well in control for Woodrow Wilson, still leading 28-0 at halftime, but Riverside flipped the script in the second half, rallying to make it a game.
Warriors quarterback Jake Walker threw two touchdown passes in the third quarter, a 4-yarder to Brock Jeffries and an 82-yarder to Michael Terrell, to suddenly cut the deficit in half at 28-14.
In the fourth quarter, Walker connected with Terrell on another long touchdown pass for Riverside, a 69-yarder with 8:24 left in the game, and the Woodrow Wilson lead was down to 28-20.
After both teams exchanged punts, Woodrow Wilson started with a short field at the Warriors’ 38-yard line. The Flying Eagles gained 15 yards and kicker Connor Mollohan booted a 41-yard field goal with 4:14 to play, giving them a two-score lead.
Riverside was far from done though, as once again Walker orchestrated a drive, and threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Braydin Ward to cut the Woodrow Wilson lead to 31-28 with 2:48 left in the game.
The Warriors attempted an onside kick but it failed, and the Flying Eagles was able to earn a first down on the ground and run out the clock to escape with the win.
Moore led the Woodrow Wilson ground attack with 88 yards (74 in the first half) on 14 carries. The Flying Eagles ran for 202 yards in the first half but were held to just 58 in the second half.
“We made some adjustments and obviously had some success in the second half,” Daugherty said. “Six years ago when I started, we would have lost that game 56-0, no doubt about it. To see them fight shows me we are going in the right direction.”
Walker threw for 342 yards for Riverside, completing 15 of 27 passes, including several drops, and had four touchdown passes. Terrell caught three passes for 215 yards.
“What you aren’t going to see on the stat line is the way he held his composure,” said Daugherty of Walker. “Things weren’t going our way but I’m really proud of him. He played a great game and made some big plays.”
Woodrow Wilson 31, Riverside 28
Woodrow Wilson;28;0;0;3;–;31
Riverside;0;0;14;14;–;28
First Quarter
WW – Kimble 89 kickoff return (Mollohan kick), 11:46
WW – Moore 15 run (Mollohan kick), 6:56
WW – Grayton 11 run (Mollohan kick), 5:16
WW – Kimble 59 run (Mollohan kick) 1:53
Third Quarter
Riv – Jeffries 4 pass from Walker (Cook kick), 2:50
Riv – Terrell 82 pass from Walker (Cook kick), 1:16
Fourth Quarter
Riv – Terrell 69 pass from Walker (kick failed), 8:24
WW – Mollohan 41 field goal, 4:14
Riv – Ward 23 pass from Walker (Hairston run), 2:48
Team Statistics
;;;WW;Riv
First downs;;;18;15
Rushes-yards;;;52-253;34-114
Passing yards;;;1;347
Passing;;;3-8-0;16-28-0
Total yards;;;253;461
Fumbles-lost;;;3-2;3-2
Penalties-yards;;;9-65;10-70
Punts-average;;;4-36.3;2-27.0
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING – Woodrow: Moore 14-88, Kimble 9-78, Smith 12-58. Riverside: Hairston 13-60, Baria 4-29, Terrell 7-25.
PASSING – Woodrow: Jones 3-8-0, 1. Riverside: Walker 15-27-0, 342.
RECEIVING – Woodrow: Smith 1-2, Grayton 2-(-1). Riverside: Terell 4-215, Symns 4-61.
