HIGH SCHOOL

Riverdale seeks revenge from 2013

Tom Kreager
tkreager@dnj.com

MURFREESBORO – There are times that Riverdale football coach Ron Aydelott still questions his new offense.

The Warriors' spread attack isn't quite second nature yet, to him or his program.

But he admits so far there has been results in their new offense, including a 21-0 win over Siegel to open the season a week ago.

"Initially I thought there was some problems," Aydelott said of the offensive performance against Siegel. "But when we looked at the film, it wasn't as bad as I thought.

"We had 85 offensive snaps. I've never had that many. We had more than 400 yards and still punted it six times."

The offense faces its second challenge at 7 p.m. today at Tomahawk Stadium in a non-district contest with Bradley Central.

Both squads are 1-0. Bradley, which defeated Riverdale 39-35 a year ago, defeated Polk County 21-6.

Riverdale is attempting to win its firs non-conference game since 2012. The Warriors went 0-4 a year ago in out of district contests.

"This game would be huge for our morale," Aydelott said. "Like I told our kids, non-district games are as important as district games in this playoff system."

Riverdale finished third in District 7-AAA a year ago, but missed the playoffs despite fourth-place Siegel and fifth-place Smyrna advancing. But Riverdale finished 4-6 overall, while Siegel went 7-3 and Smyrna went 6-4 in the 2013 regular season.

In the current playoff system, the top two teams in each district are guaranteed a playoff berth. The remainder of the postseason bracket is filled through a tiebreaker system that starts with best record.

Bradley Central, which reached the Class 6A playoffs a year ago, is led by quarterback Cole Copeland, who is next in line of a long line of Copelands to play in the Bradley Central program.

Riverdale has won three straight games dating back to its last two weeks of the 2013 season. Aydelott said a lot of that success has to do with the character of the players in the program.

"We found some at the end of last year that would buy into the team," Aydelott said. "They are competitors.

"The character and attitude of our kids is so much better than a year ago."

Quarterback Cortland Owens was 13-of-23 passing against Siegel for 184 yards. Artavious Collier rushed for 114 yards on 24 carries with two touchdowns.

However, it was the Warriors' defense that grabbed everyone's attention. Riverdale allowed just 163 total yards and shut out the Stars.

Contact Tom Kreager at 615-278-5168 or tkreager@dnj.com. Follow him on Twitter @Kreager.

Week 1 Schedule

(All games at 7 p.m.)

Brentwood at Blackman

Cannon Co. at Jackson Co.*

Eagleville at Watertown

La Vergne at Wilson Central

Jo Byrns at Lancaster Chr.

Zion Chr. at MTCS

White Station at Oakland

Bradley Central at Riverdale

Ooltewah at Siegel**

Smyrna at Cane Ridge

Tullahoma at Stewarts Creek

*WBRY (96.7-FM, 1540-AM)

**WGNS (100.5-FM, 1450-AM)