The Riverside Bulldogs (1-4) held off fellow Western Line School foe O’Bannon Greenwaves 22-20 in a seesaw gridiron affair Friday night.
Bulldogs junior Eric Kingdom scored on quarterback keeper with 3:21 remaining in the game. The two-point conversion was good and proved to be the margin of victory as Riverside led 22-20.
“We’re a young team playing a bunch of freshmen and sophomores,” said Riverside head coach Jim Risen. “O’Bannon is a well-coached program with a lot of tradition. They’ve beaten us eight years in a row and to get this win means the world to us right now.”
The homestanding Greenwaves took its final lead in the closing minutes of the third quarter as senior quarterback Kavion Swilley threw an 80-yard dart to sophomore receiver Donavan Lewis as he outraced a Bulldogs defensive back.
The extra point failed, and O’Bannon took at 20-14 lead with 1:35 remaining in the third quarter.
The home team had a chance to win the game with a first and ten at the 11-yard line with less than two minutes left in the game but came up short.
“I started about seven ninth graders tonight,” said O’Bannon head coach Lynn Lang. “We should’ve won it, but those are some of the things you go through with a young team. Even though this one sticks in your gut a little, I did see some great potential out there for the future of our program.”
O’Bannon took its first lead of the night on a 34-yard touchdown pass from Swilley to sophomore receiver Deshawn Scott on the first drive of the third quarter.
The point after failed and the Greewaves led 14-8 with 9:05 remaining in the third quarter.
Riverside reciprocated on its next offensive possession as Kingdom floated a 61-yard touchdown pass to senior receiver D’vonta Gaston. The extra point failed, and the game was tied at 14-14 with 7:12 remaining in the third quarter.
Riverside’s offense opened the game with three drives inside the Greenwaves’ 25-yard line but had nothing on the score board to show for it early on. On the opening drive of the game, Riverside went 70 yards in seven plays but Greenwaves sophomore defensive end Deshawn Scott thwarted the drive with a fumble recovery.
The next two drives into Greenwave territory resulted in Riverside turning the ball over on downs.
After a blocked punt, Riverside had yet another opportunity to score down deep in Greenwaves territory.
On the first play of the drive, Gaston went around left end and scored from 23-yards out. The two-point conversion put the Bulldogs up 8-0 with 4:50 remaining in the second quarter.
O’Bannon answered right back on their first possession after the initial Riverside score. Swilley backpedaled and ran towards the O’Bannon sideline as Bulldogs defenders surrounded him.
Somehow, he delivered a pass downfield from an awkward throwing position to Zion Jessie for a 55-yard touchdown.
The two-point conversion tied the game at 8-8 with 3:36 remaining in the first half. The score remained tied heading into the locker-room.
O’Bannon has an open date for Friday and will resume play on Oct. 4 as host to Charleston. Riverside will travel to West Tallahatchie.
