The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
FIRST PLAYOFF WIN
Beavers use dramatics against Nordonia to earn first playoff win in school history
Trailing by two scores three different times in the game, there was no quit from the Riverside football team.
The Beavers needed three things to happen in the fourth quarter Nov. 2 in the Division ll, Region 5 quarterfinal. All of those things were met in a 43-38 comeback victory on Michael Wojkowski’s 22-yard touchdown catch from Andrew Keller.
With the Beavers down, 3837, they forced the Knights to punt with 2:21 to go in the game.
Riverside then scored to take the lead for the first time
in the game. On fourth-and-12, quarterback Keller found Wojkowski for the game-winning touchdown.
The Beavers still had one more box to check – they had to stop the Knights. It came down to a fourth-down play with 18 seconds to go as Nyles Bevely’s catch came up short of a first down.
Riverside will be playing football next week.
“It’s all on these kids, and they never stop fighting,” Coach Dave Bors said.
“We’ve been down multiple times this year. It just epitomized what this team is all about. I’m just so happy for these kids, and the coaching staff did a nice job. This win is for the community.”
Players mobbed each other at midfield while some of the fans joined the celebration knowing they made history by recording their first playoff win in school history.
Keller completed 7 of his 13 passes for 111 yards. Running back Danny Smith ran for 132 yards on 20 carries.
“Everything was just clicking tonight,” Smith said. “Everybody was on the same page tonight, and it’s just amazing.”
Nordonia’s offense struck early, starting with Sal Parrine’s 15-yard touchdown run. The Knights went into halftime with a 14-point lead.
Keller’s five-yard touchdown run started things off in the second half for Riverside to cut the deficit to 21-13.
After Beverly’s touchdown run, things weren’t looking bright for the Beavers until Smith’s 11-yard touchdown run.
However, the Knights answered back on Julius Jones’ touchdown catch to stretch the lead to 38-29.
At that point, Riverside’s offense and defense stepped up, which ultimately was the deciding factor in the game.
Moving on to the next round, the Beavers will play Maple Heights next week at a site to be determined.
Whatever Bors said to his team at halftime, it surely worked for them.
“We’ve been here before, and we’re going to fight,” Bors said.
“We just can’t think about we have to score and be physical because the score will take care of itself. But the thing is we’re going to fight no matter what the score is.”