Riverfield locks down spot in MAIS playoffs

The Riverfield Academy Raiders were in Pearl, Miss., last Friday night where they took on the Park Place Crusaders in another district contest.
The Raiders came away with a win and upped their district record record to 4-0 with a 6-1 overall standing. The win also cinched a playoff spot for the Raiders in the first round of the MAIS AAA playoffs which will begin on Oct. 27.
The first quarter of the game ended in a 6-6 tie. The Crusaders kicked two field goals to gain their six points while the Raiders scored on a 29-yard touchdown run by Zach Carnegie but failed on the PAT.
In the second quarter, Park Place took the lead on a 10-yard touchdown run followed by a 1-point PAT, giving them a 13-6 advantage. The seven-point lead was short lived, however, as Cole Garrett took the Crusader kickoff following their touchdown and ran it back 80 yards for a Raider touchdown, closing the Crusader lead to 13-12. With 6:59 left in the second quarter, the Raiders trailed by one point.
The rest of the second quarter was highlighted by the Raider defense. Two pass interceptions changed the momentum of the game for the Crusaders. The first was a 30-yard pick six by Cole Garrett. The second was picked off in the Raider end zone by Zach Carnegie and ended what had shaped up to look like a Crusader scoring drive.
The Raiders went into halftime with a five-point lead of 18-13.
The momentum of the third quarter was controlled by the Raiders as they outscored the Crusaders 14-0. On their opening drive of the second half, the Raiders took the ball 67 yards on 10 plays, using up almost six minutes of on the time clock. The drive ended with a seven-yard touchdown run by Cole Garrett. Garrett added two points on the PAT. Riverfield’s next drive in the quarter was four plays long and ended when Garrett broke loose on a 71-yard touchdown run. When the quarter ended, the Raiders had a commanding lead of 32-13.
In the fourth quarter, the Crusaders did outscore the Raiders 8-6 but was too little, too late. The final Raider touchdown of the night was a one-yard run by Zach Carnegie which ended a 16-play drive, taking the ball 73 yards downfield.
The Crusaders scored early in the quarter but on their last possession of the game, they fell fell short as Raider defenders Chase Miller and Luke Williams sacked the Crusader quarterback twice in the backfield.
As the final seconds ticked off the clock, the Raiders were celebrating a 38-21 victory.
The Raiders had a total of 355 yards of offense on the night, all of it on the ground. Cole Garrett for the second game this season rushed for more than 200 yards. Garrett had 201 yards on 18 carries and scored four touchdowns.
Zach Carnegie had 98 yards on 14 carries. Carnegie scored two touchdowns.
Garrett Brakefield had 56 yards on eight carries. Brakefield was zero for three in the passing game and was intercepted once.
This week, the Raiders will be celebrating homecoming. Friday night’s ballgame will be against the Glenbrooke Apaches and will feature pregame and halftime homecoming activities.
Head Coach Boyd Cole had these comment earlier in the week:
“Those of you who drove over to Pearl, Miss., Friday saw a very physical football game. The Raiders only punted once in the game and totally controlled the second half.
“It was the third game in a row that was on the line of scrimmage. The men up front on the line of scrimmage took control early in the second quarter and never looked back. The Raiders have at least a share of the district championship with three games left.
“All of the Raider nation need to come out to homecoming this week and cheer the Raiders to another victory.”
Hey Raider fans, come out to Joe Meeks Field for this year’s homecoming game. Homecoming activities begin at 6:30 p.m.
Kick off is slated for 7 p.m.