‘I just threw it up’: Halftime Hail Mary helps Warriors top Christ Church

Riverside quarterback Ty Breeze’s Hail Mary throw – along with his six total touchdowns – helped the Warriors pull away from Christ Church and move to 3-1.

With just seconds to go in the first half, Riverside found itself with the ball trailing 14-7. The offense had struggled to get much going heading into halftime.

Quarterback Ty Breeze knew he had to make a play.

Breeze took the snap from the Christ Church 45-yard line and dropped back in the pocket. The protection in front of him broke down, so Breeze scrambled way out to his left. He saw wide receiver Izzy Leamon in the middle of the field, but Leamon was smothered by two defenders.

“I pointed Izzy to the corner of the end zone,” said Breeze. “That way it would give us a chance to score.”

The first-half clock hit zero. Breeze had to make the throw.

“I just threw it up.”

The throw was right on target at the goal line, but Leamon would have to time his leap perfectly to snag the ball over the heads of two defensive backs. Leamon jumped and plucked the ball out of the air, landing just over the goal line.

“I had put in my mind that I was going to get that ball, and nothing was going to stop me,” said Leamon. “I’d dropped some passes earlier in the game, so I wanted to redeem myself.”

Leamon’s redemption tied the score at 14 going into halftime. It gave Riverside every ounce of momentum moving forward in the game. The Warriors outscored the Cavaliers 34-14 in the second half to pull out a 48-37 victory.

Breeze had another day to remember under center, passing for 306 yards and five touchdowns. He ran for another score. It marked Breeze’s second game with six total touchdowns in his first four outings. He has 16 total touchdowns this season.

“Once we got the run game established, I was able to get going,” said Breeze. “I made a couple mistakes early, but the rest of the game I just wrapped it all up.”

“He’s great under pressure, he’s never panicking,” said Leamon of his quarterback. “He always knows what he wants to do, and he gets it done.”

Breeze’s favorite target against the Cavaliers was sophomore receiver Jaiden “Speedy” Taylor, who came down with five catches for 137 yards and two touchdowns.

“The funny thing is [Christ Church] thought they could double team Mikkel [Skinner] and get away with it,” said Breeze. “Anytime you’re up against Speedy Taylor one-on-one, it’s going to be bad.”

Skinner himself also had a day with five catches for 71 yards and two scores of his own.

Senior safety Clay Black scored his first career touchdown as well, blocking a punt in the third fourth quarter to put the Warriors ahead for good.

The win marks the second straight game in which the Warriors have beaten a team they lost to last season, which Breeze says is a testament to the guys on the roster.

“We’ve got dogs here at Riverside now,” said Breeze. “I think that’s been the difference.”

If the new-look Warriors truly want to make a statement, this Friday is the chance to do it. Riverside will face its toughest test of the season so far when it welcomes Spartanburg to The Reservation.

“I think this is the game that’s going to wake everybody up to us,” said Breeze. “People may count us out until they see us perform against some of the top 5-A teams, so this will be our time to make sure we’re seen.”