By RYAN ARENA

Sports Editor

St. John-Plaquemine had a lot of recent success against Riverside entering Thursday night’s game between the two teams, winning the last three games  and four of the last five.

But Riverside brought a dominant defense to the table in the latest contest between the two, and it paid dividends in a 14-6 Rebels win at Plaquemines’ Green Devil Stadium on Thursday night.

The War Eagles scored on their first drive of the night, but that’s all the Rebel defense would allow. Lloyd Johnson’s 1-yard run in the third quarter broke a 6-6 tie to lift the Rebels (3-1) to their second straight win.

“They took it down on their first drive and scored,” said Riverside Coach Tim Taffi. “That was the only dim spot on defense for us. We did what we’ve preached, control the line up front, and limit the big play.”

St. John (2-2) racked up 212 yards of total offense to Riverside’s 162. But the Rebels made big plays defensively to end War Eagle drives. Nick Moock halted one by intercepting a Michael Martinez pass. Bobby Smith made another late in the fourth quarter to preserve the eight point Rebel advantage.

The Rebels also made two key fourth down stops against St. John.

A year ago, Riverside won its games primarily with offense. But that side of the ball is a young, developing unit now, so Taffi and his staff tweaked the Rebels defense, scrapping its 3-3-5 alignment and moving to the 50, which allows the Rebels line to get more size on the field.

So far, it’s yielded great results.

“With the 3-3, I think the kids were relying on a scheme, looking for the big play, a blitz to make things happen,” said Taffi. “This allows us to concentrate on coaching football technique more, as opposed to a scheme.”

The six points allowed against St. John’s represented the third exceptional performance of the season for the Rebels, after shutting out West St. John and Hanson.

St. John scored it’s first and only touchdown on an eight play, 68 yard drive. All were runs, capped by a 1-yard T.J. Williams touchdown.

Riverside answered through the air, when Darnell Rachal dialed long distance to find Ricky Johnson for a deep pass, resulting in a 38-yard score for Riverside at the tail end of the first quarter.

Neither team converted the point after, leaving the score tied at 6.

That score remained until the third quarter, when Lloyd Johnson crossed the goalline for his eventual game-winning score. Johnson had a 16-yard carry on that drive and Rachal had an 18-yarder to set up the score.

Smith ran for the two-point conversion to make put Riverside ahead 14-6.

“We’re seeing the offense improve from week to week. The execution’s better, and our skill people have a better grasp of the offense,” said Taffi.