5 keys to Riverdale's 57-45 win over Centennial

It was brother against brother when Riverdale took on Centennial Friday night.

Riverdale coach Will Kriesky went up against his twin brother Matt Kriesky.

And it was one they’ll always remember. In an offensive shootout, Riverdale outscored Centennial 57-45 to improve to 5-1 on the season. Centennial fell to 2-4.

Here are five keys to Riverdale’s victory.

Shootout

There were 102 points in the game, 49 in the second quarter alone, when Riverdale outscored Centennial 28-21.

Riverdale coach Will Kriesky wasn't happy to see that many points scored against his team.

“That’s frustrating. Two head coaches who are defensive oriented, and you have a game like this – that’s frustrating,” said Kriesky. “I’m proud of the way the offense stepped up and carried the team tonight.”

Davis back on track

After being slowed down last week at Oakland, Riverdale senior running back Savion Davis scored six touchdowns Friday.

He had five rushing touchdowns and 175 total yards, and he also scored on a 90-yard kickoff return in the second half. He totaled 177 yards on three kickoff returns.

“It looked like a basketball game,” said Davis. “It was kind of fun, but at some points in the game (the defense) had their heads down. I had to tell the team to keep their heads up.”

Key turnovers

The Warriors couldn’t stop Centennial on its first five possessions. The Cougars had four touchdowns, a field goal and a 31-14 lead.

But turnovers on two straight possessions turned things around for Riverdale. The Warriors forced two fumbles when Centennial was deep in its own territory, and scored off both turnovers, making it 31-28. Brady Stokes and Mario Sanders had the two fumble recoveries.

Riverdale also forced a fumble to stop a key Centennial drive in the fourth quarter. The Warriors were ahead 50-45 at the time but the Cougars were driving downfield when Jordan Cordoba recovered a fumble to stop the drive.

Defensive adjustments

Centennial quarterback Tre Stewart completed 9-of-11 passes in the first half for 278 yards. In the second half the Warriors made defensive adjustments and Stewart was 6-of-11 for only 40 yards.

The Cougars only managed 14 second-half points after scoring 31 in the first half.

Oh, brother

Will Kriesky said he usually talks to his brother every Friday night – but that didn’t happen after his team’s win Friday.

“It’s tough, because we usually talk. It’s probably the first time since we started coaching in 2005, that we won’t pick up the phone and call each other tonight,” he said. “This wasn’t about us. We both needed a game, and this fell into place.”