By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

 

RESERVE — Riverside coach Bill Stubbs can see things coming together before his eyes.

And though he says his focus is squarely upon on-field improvement and not on the scoreboard, the scoreboard has been pretty friendly to the Rebels lately.

Friday saw Riverside capture its second straight victory, a non-district matchup with Miller McCoy, 33-0, at Riverside.

“The kids executed very well,” said Stubbs. “They drove down on us on that first drive to about our 10, and the defense held. That was very big. Then we came back and we were able to take it the distance and set a tone.”

Rebels quarterback Deuce Wallace completed 17 of 24 passes for 224 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. Jonquial Sanders had a big night, rushing 14 times for 100 yards and adding another 80 yards through the air, including a 52-yard touchdown reception. Herb McGee caught eight passes for 100 yards and two touchdowns.

The Rebels (2-4)  opened the scoring with a

Sanders 1-yard plunge in the first quarter that made it 6-0; the extra point attempt failed.

In the second quarter, it was the Wallace and McGee show, as quarterback hooked up with his favorite target twice for redzone scores, the first from 15 yards out and the next from 18, making it 18-0 at halftime.

Wallace and Sanders combined for a 52-yard touchdown play coming out of the half. Riverside secured the two-point conversion to make it 26-0.

The Rebels rounded out its scoring when Wallace hit Timmy Perrilloux for a 3-yard touchdown later in the third.

Riverside held McCoy (0-5) to 220 total yards.

While the Rebel defense struggled mightily in the early part of the season, Riverside has allowed a total of six points in its past two games. 

“They played the scheme well,” said Stubbs. “I think we’re playing with a little more confidence. The pursuit to the football is a lot better. The improvement’s been great.”

Stubbs was also pleased with the way the Rebels ran the football, an aspect that had been inconsistent in past weeks, despite some big scoring outputs.

“You could see things open up,” said Stubbs. “Guys were getting to the second level. And that’s the beauty of Jonquial’s game. When you can get him into that second level, he can really start to make things happen.”