Riverside didn’t panic when it went down two scores in the first half to South. The Beavers knew they needed slight adjustments to both sides to take the Sept. 27 Western Reserve Conference clash. With another mammoth performance on the ground by Kyndall McCaleb, the Beavers took the 35-28 victory to sit in a tie with Mayfield atop the conference. Riverside improves to 3-3, while South falls to 2-4. The Rebels started with control of the game, their opening drive being aided by Alex Patrizi taking a bad snap on a punt attempt 18 yards for a first down. South then turned to the ground game with seven of its next eight plays being runs. Six of them went to Jayden Hardy, who capped it with a one-yard touchdown. After a Riverside three-and-out, South set itself up in the red zone as Luke Jensen found Marquez Lashley for a gain of 40. But the Rebels settled for a 26-yard field goal by Mason Gumto. Coach Jeremy Ishmael and the Riverside staff didn’t break a sweat. “The first half we had a really hard time just getting off the field,” Ishmael said. “That was a big part of their success. One of these days, one of these weeks, we’re going to play complementary football. When we have offense and defense working together, we’re a pretty OK football team. We just have to get that on a more consistent basis.” Riverside’s next possession started in South territory, set up by a Matt Priest interception and turned to its ground game. McCaleb had four straight runs and ended with a 15-yard touchdown. In the first half, McCaleb had all but five yard of Riverside’s offense. “We came out dry,” McCaleb said. “Our thing is energy, and we have to have energy to win. The sideline needs to be active. We said we need to go now. We can’t wait until the second half. We were able to get it going. We train in the weight room a lot, and our plan is to push people around on the run. Our quarterback is young, but he can run. We were able to do it all on the ground.” Not to be out done, Hardy bounced to the outside on South’s next possession for a 71-yard score. Riverside answered quickly, as McCaleb went for a 61-yard score on the second play of Riverside’s ensuing drive. McCaleb finished with 218 yards and four scores, while Hardy had 207 yards and three touchdowns. The second half started very similarly for the Beavers, with an 11-play drive and capped with a McCaleb two-yard score. The two sides traded possessions after but on second-and-long for South, a missed pitch created a fumble that Priest fell on to create his second turnover of the contest. That set the Beavers up inside the red zone and McCaleb scored on the second play, from three yards out. Priest has played a major part for the Beavers defense that retooled from a year ago. But being in a familiar situation as the new names him, it’s allowed him to help make the adjustment period seamless. “Both of the turnovers were extend plays,” Priest said. “I saw the ball and knew we needed it. We were down when I had the interception and I try to get the ball at any time. I try to help the guys with anything that we need help with. Everyone had the mindset of getting the ball and they’re picking it up greatly.” But South wasn’t out of the contest yet. Hardy popped a 50-yard touchdown on the next drive for the Rebels and Jensen found Marquez Lashley for the two-point conversion. A David Seibert eight-yard score on a quarterback keeper pushed it back to a 10-point lead. But South marched down the field again. Jenson had big completions to Lashley and Patrizi that got the Rebels into the red zone. But the Riverside defense stood firm and South settled for a Gumto 21-yard field goal. On the ensuing squib kick, Rhys Sas took the ball inside South territory and a pair of first downs iced the game. Hardy knows while the loss isn’t the desired outcome, it’s a big teaching moment for the young Rebels team. They feature just nine seniors and everything is a learning experience for them. “They were a little slower of a team than we’ve seen all year,” Hardy said. “I had that speed advantage over them and was able to get to the outside and on the edge. It’s been tough but we know what we’re up against. We have to fight and be ready to go every week.” Riverside returns home after two road games for a battle with North on Oct. 4. South travels to Chardon in a clash of teams searching for its first WRC win. THE SCORE Riverside 35, South 28