The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Opportunistic Riverside knocks off Amherst
Winning two of the three phases in a football game is usually a formula for success. Winning all three is as good as a guarantee.
Riverside junior defensive back Jake Elly intercepted a pass to set up one touchdown and linebacker Henry Busch blocked a punt to set up another Aug. 27 to help the Beavers past Amherst, 49-14, at Riverside Stadium.
Busch wasn’t done. He intercepted a pass in the third quarter to set up Dom Tromba’s third touchdown of the night — a 36-yard run to push the Riverside lead to 42-7.
The Beavers are 1-1. The rebuilding Comets are 0-2.
“I’m proud of all three phases,” Riverside coach Dave Bors said. “We have goals for all three sides of the ball, and I think we hit a lot of those goals.
“Sometimes you have real good defensive play. Sometimes you have real good offensive play. Sometimes special teams. But it’s been a while since we had all three out of our team.”
Riverside kicked off and quickly forced a punt. The Beavers moved 25 yards in three plays and faced third-and-3 on the Amherst 31. That’s when they started to set the tone for
the night.
Tromba took the handoff from junior quarterback Cameron Simpson and followed his blockers around the left side for a 31-yard run to the end zone
with 8:05 to play in the first quarter.
Elly’s interception and return to the Amherst 47 gave the offense excellent field position. The Beavers moved steadily downfield in eight plays and then finished the drive on a oneyard touchdown run by Brady McKnight on the final play of the first quarter.
Busch’s blocked punt on the Amherst 18 gave the Beavers’ offense another short field. Four plays later, Tromba scored from the 7 for a 21-0 lead.
The final score was lopsided, but the young Comets had their special moments. Senior running back Torre Weatherspoon flashed his speed on the longest run of the night, a 76-yard sprint down the right sideline to cut the Riverside lead to 21-7 in the second quarter.
“We didn’t quit,” Amherst coach Kenny Fritz said. “We had every opportunity to fold, and we didn’t. In the fourth quarter we could have completely packed it in and been done and we didn’t stop. That’s what you ask of your football team.”
Weatherspoon scored again with 8:21 remaining, this time on a 35-yard scamper after the Beavers built their lead to 49-7.
The Beavers multi-faceted attack kept the pressure on after Weatherspoon’s first touchdown. Erren Conwell raced 30 yards to give Riverside a 28-7 halftime lead.
Tromba, Elly and sophomore Mikey Maloney scored for the Beavers in the second half.