‘It hasn’t left our heads’: Revisiting the incomplete pass that set Riverside, Greer on a collision course

Riverside quarterback Robinson Sanders scrambled to his left after Cayden Cosby slipped on his route on the right side of the field. His pass into the end zone fell incomplete.

Matt Rochester doesn’t regret his decision. Not one bit.

After Riverside scored during overtime of last year’s thrilling matchup with Greer, the Warriors had the chance to tie the game at 49. Greer had already scored to go up 49-42 on their first overtime possession.

Instead, Rochester — Riverside head coach and former offensive lineman at Greer — opted to go for two and the win.

“I’d absolutely make that decision again,” said Rochester. “It was just one of those nights where it was going to be the first team to stop the other. I didn’t want to put the ball back in Greer’s hands. The ball was in our hands with a chance to win the game.”

The decision to go for two? Rochester sticks by it. But the play call itself? Admittedly, he might want that one back.

“Yeah, knowing that one didn’t work the way we thought it was going to, I’d definitely pick something different.”

SLIPPED AWAY

The play began with Riverside quarterback Robinson Sanders taking a shotgun snap. Sanders rolled out to his right. He looked toward the right corner of the end zone, expecting to see star senior wide receiver Cayden Cosby open near the back of the end zone.

Cosby was rarely not open — both throughout that game and the 2022 season. But this time, he was smothered in coverage by an unlikely defender: Greer’s own star wide receiver, Chase Byrd.

Jackets head coach Will Young slid Byrd into the cornerback spot during the fourth quarter. He was tasked with manning up Cosby for the remainder of the game because no one else had been able to.

Byrd didn’t allow one catch to Cosby while covering him.

“I knew they were going to try to get [Cosby] the ball when I went in,” said Byrd. “But I didn’t let him get a single reception while I was on him.”

And on that two-point try, thanks largely to Byrd’s defense, Cosby slipped on his route. Byrd took him out of the play entirely.

“It’s funny, on that two-point play, I saw the quarterback make a signal,” said Byrd. “And because so many of Riverside’s coaches come from Greer, I knew exactly what that signal meant. I knew the route [Cosby] was going to run, so I just played it. He ended up slipping, and the quarterback had to look the other way.”

After seeing Cosby slip on his route, Sanders scrambled back across the field and looked toward the left corner of the end zone. There he saw wide receiver Zion Culbertson, but Culbertson — who had previously played at Greer — was smothered in coverage by Jackets defensive back Anthony Lyons.

Sanders was chased down and surrounded by Greer defensive lineman. He had no choice but to throw it up.

Lyons swatted away the ball and the pass fell incomplete. Greer emerged victorious, 49-48.

Riverside’s Cayden Cosby can’t make the catch on the two-point conversion, and Greer wins in overtime, 49-48.

“The crazy thing about it is that we were down, I want to say 35-14 in that game,” said Lyons. “But we just came up. We worked as brothers and won that game.”

The entire Greer team rushed the field to celebrate. Players danced at the midfield Riverside logo, and Greer Mayor Rick Danner presented the Jackets with the first-ever “Golden Spike” award commemorating the Greer-Riverside rivalry.

“Man, we were all jumping up and down and going crazy,” recalled Lyons. “I remember Mr. [Greg] Miller was our athletic director at the time, and he told everybody in the student section not to come onto the field.

Anthony Lyons poses with the ‘Golden Spike’ plaque presented by the City of Greer.

“So I just remember everybody lining up at the gate, yelling and jumping while all of us were running around on the field. It was such a good time.”

THE OPPOSITE SIDE

On the other side of the field, Riverside players looked on in sorrow.

They watched Greer players celebrating what they felt should have been their moment, at their home stadium, in front of Warrior fans.

Instead, Riverside saw a rivalry win, a home playoff game, and an outright region title slip away on one play.

“It was heartbreaking,” said Riverside safety Clay Black. “That would have been the first time in a long time that Riverside won the region outright. Losing a nail-biter at home, seeing them rush our field, and seeing them get the trophy at midfield after the game, it left a bad taste in our mouths.

“That feeling, it was definitely emotional,” said Riverside safety Quinton Hood. “I felt bad for the seniors. That’s a big rivalry. It sucked that it ended the way it did last year. It was a tough time.”

Those dark moments of watching the Greer celebrations through tear-stained eyes, they haven’t left the Warriors’ minds. Not since the moment Sanders’ final heave fluttered into the grass. It’s been motivation for the team each of the last 365 days.

“That’s just something you never want to have happen to you,” said Black. “Especially on your home turf. Personally, since the moment last year’s game ended, I’ve been wanting to get that back. I want that feeling to be struck back into [Greer].”

“That’s the kind of thing where, you know, it hasn’t left our heads,” said Hood. “It stays there. And what are we going to do about it? Are we going to be stuck in the mindset of losing last year to them? Or are we going to bounce back and get better?”

RUN IT BACK

Now, one year later, the Warriors and Jackets are right back where they started: the clear two best teams in their region, both ready to run it back for a shot at the region title.

Last year’s game — and that fateful failed two-point conversion — set Greer and Riverside on a collision course. It was always going to come down to this, and on Friday night, the rivalry adds what’s sure to be another thrilling chapter to its story.

The game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Dooley Field is the place to be.

“It’s going to feel great [to beat Greer]. It’s something all the guys are wanting,” said Black. “We want to put back into them what happened to us last year.”

“With how hard we’re working, I like our chances to win,” said Lyons. “Chase Byrd and I were talking today at practice, and he was telling me, ‘You get your defense together, and I’ll get my offense together.’ We’ve all just been working so hard for this game. We’re flying around out here.

“And I mean, don’t get me wrong. Riverside’s a good team. I’ll give that to them. But only the best team can win.”