Clayton News Daily

By Jeffery Armstrong

The Riverdale Raiders didn't play their best game, but they were more than good enough to rout the Morrow Mustangs 42-7 Saturday night in a non-region contest at Twelve Oaks Stadium.

Now they have four days to get ready for the first region contest of the year against perennial contender Starr's Mill. Game time is set for Friday, Sept. 19 at 7:30 p.m. at Starr's Mill.

Five different Raiders scored touchdowns in the game, with quarterback Rashad Nettles rushing for two – one from 25 yards out and the other from 22 yards.

Riverdale's defense got the scoring started in the first quarter. Starting strong safety Terrance Thomason blocked a Morrow punt and defensive end Charles Daniels scooped the ball and ran 15 yards for the touchdown and a 7-0 lead.

"The defense stepped up this game; I'm glad about that," said Riverdale head coach Rodney Hackney. "We've got to practice better and execute better if we want to beat Starr's Mill next week. We can't make any mistakes."

With Riverdale (3-0) leading 14-0 after a 7-yard TD run by Kevin Colbert, the Mustangs (0-2) scored their first points of the season, thanks to all-everything player Benton Smith. Smith ran 33 yards on a fake punt, his second of the game, and two plays later he caught a 35-yard pass from Morrow quarterback Charles Gates at the Riverdale six.

Two Riverdale penalties put Morrow on the 1-yard line and Gates snuck in for the touchdown to make the score 14-7. That was the closest Morrow would get as the Raiders scored 28 unanswered points to put the game away.