OAK RIDGE VS RIVERDALE

[HeavyEagle275]

Congrats Riverdale on going to the state championship game again and good luck.Also good job to oak ridge on a good season

[Wildmanfan]

My gosh what a defense the Warriors has. STIMEY! Congrads Riverdale. That secondary is awesome. So was the rest of the D but the secondary saved the night.

 

It breaks my heart to watch the cats loose. What a team, What a year! The CATS were as good as Riverdale..... Riverdale was as good as the Wildcats. If you were to play again next week its OR going to the State. I'll tell ya what really bothers me is that I am sitting here looking across my living room at the distance we needed to play next week. I almost wish we hadn't recovered that fumble with 1:30 to go. I am too old and my heart cannot take that kind of finish. My wife walked away from me for the first time ever, I think she thought I was just going to explode or implode whichever way she didnt want to be around.

 

I really enjoyed these message boards this year. I will have to say I enjoyed ART BUD and Skunk the most. I'll see yall next year. Good luck Riverdale.

 

Good night all

[OSHSman]

I heard everybody talking about Riverdale's speed, but to me, it seemed as if Oak Ridge had just as much speed. Both defenses swarmed to the ball.

 

What killed Oak Ridge tonight was their lack of a QB w/ the ability to throw. With the height advantage OR's #19 had over his defender, the OR QB should have thrown for 300 yards, but instead, he kept underthrowing him or over throwing him.

[davidlimbaugh]

heard everybody talking about Riverdale's speed, but to me, it seemed as if Oak Ridge had just as much speed. Both defenses swarmed to the ball.

 

Just got in from Oak ridge - bunch of us stopped at the Cracker Barrel in Harriman to thaw, eat and relish the monent...

 

IMHO, SPEED was the difference in the game on 2 plays tonight. #11 for Oak ridge broke away from from DEEP in their territory after breaking a couple of tackles and had a good 5 yard lead on all the RHS guys but was ran down from behind by three Warriors and was actually stripped of the ball but it rolled out of bounds. #11 was hurt on this play, it appeared to be his right arm.

 

Then, with a minute left in the half, our #36, Frazier, jumped over the defensive line at the 10 and it was he and one OR defender in a track meet for 90 yards, and the OR guy seemed to have the angle on him but Derente found an extra gear.

 

Both teams swapped touchdowns in the 3rd quarter, OR scoring on a short field after our punter/QB took of an run when he was afraid of getting a punt blocked and made 16 1/2 yards on a 4th an 17 to the 29+ when he needed the 30 and after OR scored Riverdale went 80 yards on a time consuming drive, with the same QB, Dave Thomas, going 38 yards for the score.

 

But there were some HUGE plays in a scoreless 4th quarter, all played on Riverdale's end of the field. Oak Ridge kids played their hearts out and I think held us to 0 first downs in the fourth and had perhaps 4 possessions? in the 4th quarter. But until the last OR drive, Riverdale's defense held them outside the 20 or so, even after a partially blocked punt put the ball on the RHS 25 or so. One GREAT play, and perhaps the play of the game?, was when our cornerback, Keaton Anderson, stayed home on a reverse pass play and tipped the ball away from the wideout in the enzone by jumping up and hitting it with one hand, the ball still almost falling the OR receiver's hands while he layed in the endzone.

 

Another big play was, with a little over a minute left, OR had 1 timeout left and Riverdale needed one first down and we fumbled after about a 7 yard gain around midfield. OR's QB, #8, who played his heart out all night, completed a CLUTCH 20 yard slant on 4th and about 17 with about 35 seconds left and then broke 2 tackles in the backfield, stepped up, and hit a Wideout at the 5 with 20 seconds left, our DB jumping up to bat it down but mistiming his leap. If that Wideout doesn't fall backwards making the catch, Oak Ridge is playing next Saturday instead of the Warriors. And then, with 20 seconds left and no timeouts left, which means a run play is score or die, they drop back to pass but the pass is deflected at the line and hits a defensive end in the chest at the 3 and he falls backward with the ball and basically ends the game. Talk about a sine wave of emotion for both sides of the stadium. May have been one of the best games I have ever seen, on any level, for emotion - perhaps only surpassed by the Van Tiffin Alabama Auburn game.

 

Oak Ridge folks, as always, were nothing but class and their kids played their hearts out, but Riverdale kids did the same. We kept hitting #8 after he threw and he kept getting up. #1 would limp off and then come back in a few plays later.

 

Only thing I missed from our last trip there was the nice man with the hot chocalate giving it out to us after the game. A fun night in Atomic City and a shame one team had to lose....

Edited November 29, 2003 by davidlimbaugh

[OSHSman]

Ah, you can't determine the outcome of the game on two plays. OR flocked to the ball just as fast as Riverdale did all night. If the Or reciever had come back to the ball on that reverse pass, he might have had a shot. An OR reciever had his ankle grabbed as he was trying to make a play on the ball near the end zone late in the game. The refs decided to keep the laundry in their pocket, though. How big was OR's missed extra point? W/ that and a FG on one of their numerous trips deep into Riverdale territory late in the game, they could have been playing into OT.

[davidlimbaugh]

Ah, you can't determine the outcome of the game on two plays

 

I wish folks would COMPREHEND what they read sometimes - LOL!!!

 

I wrote IMHO, SPEED was the difference in the game on 2 plays tonight.

 

I didn't way those two plays determined the outcome of the game - just that on THOSE 2 plays speed did make a difference.

 

And why spoil a good game with whines like An OR reciever had his ankle grabbed as he was trying to make a play on the ball near the end zone late in the game. ? The holding penalty against OR late was HUGE. The pass by #8 for OR on 4th down was HUGE. I can only remember ONE throw by OR in the Endzone in the 4th quarter, on the reverse pass, and it is hard for a 5'8 guy to jump up and tip a ball away AND grab a kid's ankle at the same time. Our Warriors aren't THAT talented!!!!

Edited November 29, 2003 by davidlimbaugh

[thekeg55]

Congrats to the guys from Riverdale, keep it up and walk away with the crown

[Falconstatman]

Ah, you can't determine the outcome of the game on two plays.  OR flocked to the ball just as fast as Riverdale did all night.  If the Or reciever had come back to the ball on that reverse pass, he might have had a shot.  An OR reciever had his ankle grabbed as he was trying to make a play on the ball near the end zone late in the game.  The refs decided to keep the laundry in their pocket, though.  How big was OR's missed extra point?  W/ that and a FG on one of their numerous trips deep into Riverdale territory late in the game, they could have been playing into OT.

We went to the OR/Riverdale game, and if that wasn't pass interference on that play then I don't know what pass interference is. The Riverdale player was beat and as he was falling to the ground he reached out and tripped the OR player before he could make the catch, but the refs. were right there looking at the play and didn't choose to throw the flag, (and i can't figure out why).

I think that one of the biggest plays of the game was the personal foul call against OR when Riverdale had the ball at midfield in the second half, and they were stopped and facing 3rd and around 20,and the penality changed it to 2nd and 2. Then Riv. went on to score and take the lead for good. That one play was huge in the outcome of the game. I thought it was strange later on in the game that a Riv. player,a linebacker ran ot of bounds on the OR sidelines and starting getting up in the OR players faces running his mouth and instead of throwing a flag for unsportsmanlike conduct, the ref grabbed the player and shoved him back out on the field. Oak Ridge had plenty of chances to win this game and just couldn't get it done. One other play that I couldn't understand was with OR driving in the second half OR suddenly changed QB.'s and the first play they get a illegal procedure penality then get sacked on the next and all their momentum was gone at that point.

[OSHSman]

I meant to put a statement in my last post saying that the potential pass interference play turned out to be a moot point seeing how OR got the ball back again so close to the goal line. Guess I forgot, though.

[ORWildcat30]

What a game! I'm gonna miss playin football for the Oak Ridge Wildcats. Riverdale played the game and beat us. The pass interference that wasn't called, their 80+ yard run when they had 12 men on the field...many others yeah those are annoying. But it happens in every game nothing you can do about it. This is how football is. I don't think I will ever see a game more exciting. Truly an amazing night. Beautiful snow. At least I'll never have practice, sprints, two-a-days, or weights or updowns ever again. Good luck warriors

[tnhssports]

The only legitimate excuse Oak Ridge fans have is that Riverdale's defense stuck it to them all night, especially late. The Wildcats had 3 chances to score last night in the fourth quarter and beat Riverdale, but the Warriors defense was just too strong for us. With second and goal, Scott got blitzed hard and just couldn't get it over the linebackers hand there at the end. The DE made a great play to get his hands on the ball and seal the game for Riverdale.

 

Oak Ridge's defense played good other than allowing the two big runs by Frazier and Thomas, which absolutely killed them.

 

Keep your head up boys, I enjoyed watching a couple of your games and kept up with you throughout the year. Keep dominating Region 2 5A and be proud of that 12-2 record, it was a great year.

 

Good luck Riverdale against Germantown next week! You guys are class acts and have a great team.

[ORfever]

Davidlimbaugh, Thanks for your many kind words! It was a heartbreaking night for our kids, but the end of a wonderful season. The Wildcats (Warriors too) did play their hearts out and just kept coming back even with the pain and injuries they were sustaining! And you're right, with a difference here or there the Wildcats would be visiting Murf/boro next week. We want them to hold their heads high and know what great football their fans think they have played all year!

We are happy to have the Riverdale Warriors and their fans visit the Atomic City and hope you are always made to feel welcome here. A little cold last night, not much we could do about that. Sorry about the hot chocolate though!

One more point...I agree with Falconstatman on one of his observations. I was sitting straight up above the sidelines where #34 was pushed out of bounds. His attitude wasn't fun to watch. The Warriors prove their superb ability ON the field, his behavior only reflects poorly on his team. Just an opinion on that. It was the only thing that really bothered me all night/other than losing, of course! You can't worry about the calls you think didn't get called. There's been a time or two this year when OR probably should have had calls on them and didn't. Those things are always going to happen!

I'm proud of our year! And, the Warriors have had a great year too. What a game. Don't think my heart could take many of those! Best of luck next week! Bring home another championship to your school's impressive history!

 

GO CATS!