5-2 on the season, Riverside’s 10-2A playoff hopes alive

BY JOHNNY PEPPO

Sports Editor

RESERVE — Riverside suffered only their second loss of the season last Friday when John Curtis came to Reserve and held the Rebels to 168 yards of offense in a 21-6 loss.

The first half ended in a 6-6 stalemate, where the Patriots struck first with a 46-yard field goal from kicker Josh Medley in the first quarter. The Rebels answered back with a Jarid Caesar gash through the middle for an 8-yard touchdown. A missed extra point left Riverside with a 6-3 lead.

John Curtis answered back with a drive to set up Medley’s second field goal of the night, a 26-yarder that brought the teams into halftime all tied up.

The Patriots opened it up in the second half with a pair of TD receptions from quarterback Kyle Collura, who went 9-out-of-13 for 106 yards in the game. The first was a 26-yarder to P.J. Smith in the third quarter followed by an 8-yard reception to V.J. Legrande with 2:11 remaining in the game. A two point conversion on the final drive left Curtis with a 21-6 lead and the win.

The Rebels were led by Caesar who rushed for 122 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries and Lee Haydel, who added 15 for 141 by Riverside on the day. At quarterback, A.J. Delaneuville went 5-of-7 for 25 yards.

The loss leaves the Rebels with a 5-2 season record, 1-2 in district, but playoff hopes are still alive with away matches against St. Charles and Lutcher in the final two weeks.

Curtis is still in contention with their abbreviated schedule of 2-2 and a district record of 1-1.

“We played hard and gave ourselves chances to win,” Riverside coach Mickey Roussel said after the game. “That’s all I can ask them to do. We had our chances.”