Lansdale Catholic vs. Riverside

Recap

RIVERSIDE 17, LANSDALE CATHOLIC 7

Riverside used a strong second half to overcome District 12 champion, Lansdale Catholic, 17-7. In a game that was marred by penalties in the first half, the Vikings relied on their stellar senior quarterback, Chase Taddonio,  and a stout defense to carry them to victory.

Lansdale Catholic struck quickly on their opening drive. On just their third play from scrimmage, quarterback Yeboa Cobbold launched a deep pass that was grabbed by Nick O’Brien who converted the aerial into a 71-yard scoring play. Less than ninety seconds into the game, the Vikings trailed 7-0. Amazingly, that was the only time Lansdale Catholic crossed the goal line all night long.

After two Riverside punts, the Viking defense came up with a huge defensive stand. Lansdale Catholic drove inside Riverside territory. On 4^th and short, the front wall of the Riverside defense swallowed O’Brien after no gain and Lansdale Catholic turned the ball over on downs late in the 1^st quarter.

The Vikings attempted some trickery to extend their next drive which had stalled at the Lansdale Catholic 40. On 4th and 5, Riverside attempted a fake punt when the ball was snapped to standout tight end Richie Kostoff, who was the upback in punt formation. The attempt netted no gain and the Vikings relinquished the football.

Before the first quarter came to an end, the Viking defense forced a turnover. Riverside defensive end, Sonique Murray Connell fell on a bad shotgun snap and the Vikings took over at the Lansdale Catholic 27-yard line. That Riverside drive was thwarted by a holding penalty on 4^th down, forcing the Vikings to punt away the football.

After each team was hampered by offensive mistakes and penalties throughout the second quarter, Riverside moved the football out near midfield after a pass interference penalty against Lansdale Catholic with less than two minutes to play in the half. Riverside was penalized on four consecutive plays and the half expired with Lansdale Catholic still holding their 7-0 advantage.

After sacking Cobbold early in the third quarter, Riverside forced yet another Lansdale Catholic turnover. Richie Kostoff fell on a fumble that led to the first Viking score. Quarterback Chase Taddonio rolled around the right side and into the end zone from 4 yards away. Santino D’Amico added the extra point that tied the score at 7 with 6:38 left to play in the third quarter.

On the very next Lansdale Catholic possession, Riverside forced another fumble by Lansdale Catholic, this one recovered by JJ Rogers at the Riverside 48-yard line. The Vikings drove the football to the opponents’ 25-yard line where they faced a 4^th and 6 situation. Taddonio delivered another in a string of big plays when he found Kostoff in a soft spot in the Lansdale Catholic secondary. Kostoff was finally brought down at the 3-yard line. Taddonio hit paydirt on his second scoring jaunt of the evening, once again followed by a D’Amico extra point to make the score 14-7 just seconds into the final quarter.

The Viking special teams came up with a big play of their own when D’Amico, handling his punting chores, sending a punt to the Lansdale Catholic 5-yard line halfway through the final period. The Lansdale Catholic offense went three and out. Their issues were compounded when their punt traveled only 11 yards, allowing Riverside to take over at the Lansdale Catholic 23-yard line.

The Vikings drove the football inside the 10-yard line and, importantly, forced Lansdale Catholic to use all of their timeouts. Finally, on 4^th and goal from the 4-yard line, Coach Harry Armstrong sent out D’Amico to seal the deal with a 21-yard field goal with just 1:08 left in the football game, putting Riverside ahead two scores at 17-7.

The final offensive play for Lansdale Catholic was a long desperation pass intercepted by Rogers and setting off a celebration on the Riverside sideline.

The Vikings improved their record to 12-1, setting up a quarterfinal matchup with Williams Valley, 28-13 victors over Schuylkill Haven, next weekend.

SCORING SUMMARY

1st Quarter

LAN – Nick O’Brien 71-yd pass from Yeboa Cobbold (Chase Anderson kick) – Lansdale Catholic 7-0

2nd Quarter

None

3rd Quarter

RIV – Chase Taddonio 4-yd run (Santino D’Amico kick) – Tied 7-7

4th Quarter

RIV – Taddonio 5-yd run (D’Amico kick) – Riverside 14-7

RIV – D’Amico 21-yd field goal – Riverside 17-7