In a game that was a true tale of two halves, Riverwood stormed back from a 17-0 halftime deficit to force overtime. But Sprayberry’s defense, which was on roller skates for most of the second half, bowed its neck in the second overtime stanza to lift the Yellow Jackets to a 31-24 win in a key Region 7-AAAAA, Division B contest.
The win allowed Sprayberry (4-2, 3-0) to keep pace with Kell atop the subregion, while Riverwood (4-2, 2-2) is now two games back.
Rakeem Myrick’s 15-yard touchdown run on the first play of the Yellow Jackets’ second overtime possession, was the difference. Out of the pistol formation, the senior took a handoff from quarterback Andrew Pereira, started to his right but was hit by a Raider defender. But he maintained his balance and sprinted back to the left, picked up a block from Pereira and receiver Dreshum Miller and skipped into the end zone. Senior Rodrigo Blankenship nailed the extra point to put the pressure back on Riverwood.
The Raiders moved to the Sprayberry 3-yard line but on second down sophomore quarterback Brennen Suttle, who masterfully engineered Riverwood’s second half surge, was tackled for a four yard loss by linebacker Joshua Bailey. On the next play, Suttle’s pass was dropped by a Raider receiver in the front of the end zone.
On the decisive fourth down, Suttle faked a pitch to his right, rolled back to his left. But unable to find an open receiver, he tucked the ball away and darted up field, but was tackled by a host of Yellow Jacket defenders three yards short of the end zone.
The final play set off a raucous celebration as the Sprayberry sideline raced onto the field. It was a far cry from their emotions in the second half, when Riverwood scored 17 points while keeping Sprayberry from penetrating no further than the Raiders’ 40-yard line.
In the first half, Sprayberry scored on three consecutive possessions. A 9-yard run by Myrick capped a 65-yard drive to give the Yellow Jackets an early 7-0 lead. A 33-yard field goal by Blankenship made the score 10-0. Then, following an interception by senior linebacker Kadeem Brathwaite, Pereira hit Myrick with a 13-yard scoring touchdown pass.
But in the second half, Riverwood scored on all three of its possessions. Suttle made prudent decisions running the Raiders’ pistol-based option offense, the offensive coaching staff made subtle adjustments to its blocking schemes. Linemen Liam Collins, Coleman Mauberret, Alaye Taylor, Hagans Frederick and Jeff Hooks opened creases for Suttle and senior running backs Reginald Prince, the banger, and Khai Anderson, the darter, to lead Riverwood on scoring drives of 74, 97 and 35 yards.
Riverwood nearly took the lead in the final seconds of regulation as the Raiders had a first-and-goal at the Sprayberry 5-yard line. But after an offensive facemask penalty and two incomplete passes, Sprayberry’s defense forced Riverwood to settle for a 43-yard field goal by Skyler Degroot with :30 seconds left to force overtime.
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