By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

An explosive offense is what most expected from Riverside this season. And it’s exactly what they’re getting.

The Rebels defeated host Brusly 57-32 on Friday night, leading comfortably from the second quarter on.

“Our offense is improving every week. I can’t say enough about those guys,” said Riverside coach Mickey Roussel. “I thought we’d be very good on that side of things, but we’ve also been very balanced.”

For the second straight year, Darnell Rachal had a big game against the Panthers (1-2). He rushed for 184 yards and a pair of scores on 21 carries, and completed 8-of-12 passes for 198 yards and a touchdown.

Thomas Crouch was also key, rushing for 80 yards and three scores on 13 carries. Nate Williams ran five times for 55 yards and a touchdown. Austin Vicknair caught four passes for 78 yards.

The Rebels (3-0) outgained Brusly 542-306 in total yardage.

It took little time for Riverside to get the ball rolling. On only the game’s second play, Rachal found an opening and dashed 54 yards for a score to make it 7-0.

“We felt pretty good about that start. It gave us an early sense that we’d be able to move the ball,” said Roussel.

But Brusly fired back, scoring on its next drive and then recovering a Rebels fumble. Marlon Reed’s 36-yard touchdown run put Brusly ahead 12-7.

The Rebels didn’t flinch. Riverside took the lead back on Crouch’s first score of the night, a 3-yard touchdown run. Then Rachal found Dylan Martin for the night’s longest play, a 65-yard touchdown that put the Rebels up two scores.

Crouch scored on a 3-yard run and the Rebels converted a two-point conversion to go up 29-12. Reed drew Brusly within 10 on a 56-yard reception from Jay Christophe, but Riverside drove down with less than a minute left in the first half, going up 36-18 on a 12-yard Rachal run with six seconds remaining.

“I thought that drive was key,” said Roussel. “It was a major momentum boost going into the half.”

From there, the teams traded scores in the third quarter. Reed answered with a 14-yard touchdown run, but Williams scored from 35 yards away for the Rebels. Christoph ran one in from the Rebels’ 36, but then Crouch punched in his third score of the night. Tate Scioneaux’s 15-yard touchdown run rounded out the night’s fireworks.