Lyndez Smith, Warrior defense power Riverside to rivalry win over Eastside

Riverside’s defense played its best game of the season in a 33-8 victory over Eastside. (PHOTO | JOURNEY EDWARD)

If you hadn’t seen the game, you might have thought Riverside lost. Head coach Matt Rochester’s postgame speech was that intense.

“This is not going to work the rest of the season,” Rochester passionately told his players, who nodded their heads and kept focus on every word he said. “This was not good enough. I know this team is better than what we showed tonight.”

Rochester highlighted double-digit penalties, flaring tempers, and mental miscues throughout the game. The fourth-year head coach made it clear: he was not satisfied with his team’s performance in Riverside’s 33-8 win over rival Eastside.

Rochester loves his players, though. And at the end of the day, he did love the fact that his Warriors put up the W — their fourth in a row against the Eagles.

He made sure to tell them that, too.

“At the end of the day, I’m proud of you guys for coming out here and getting the job done,” Rochester said. “A win is a win.”

“Coach [Rochester] shows us tough love sometimes, and we all know it’s because he cares about us so much,” said Riverside sophomore quarterback Gideon Merhib. “We weren’t disciplined enough tonight and we know that.”

Rochester knew the rivalry aspect of the game would add intensity. In last season’s matchup between the Warriors and Eagles, a post-game scuffle resulted in several player suspensions. Nothing quite as bad this time around, but still plenty Rochester knows his team needs to clean up.

“It’s good that we got the W, but we’ve got to be disciplined and focused on us,” Rochester said. “This is an intense rivalry, and I know social media plays a big role in it for these guys. So you play with emotion. But too much emotion isn’t a good thing, and it led to a lot of penalties and mistakes for us tonight. We’ve got to get that cleaned up.”

A few guys on both sides of the ball played fairly mistake-free football, however. Merhib was 14-19 passing for 162 yards and three touchdowns. Through five games starting at QB as a sophomore, Merhib has over 1,000 passing yards and 17 total touchdowns.

Riverside QB Gideon Merhib threw for 162 yards and three touchdowns in Riverside’s 33-8 victory over Eastside. (PHOTO | JOURNEY EDWARD)

“I feel good about how I’m playing so far in my first year as a starter,” said Merhib. “I’ve still got a lot of room to improve, and these next few games will be a true test for myself and the team.”

Those next three games? Home vs. Gaffney, at Boiling Springs, home vs. Spartanburg.To pull off some wins against those Region 5A Region 2 powerhouses, Merhib will need to be sharp.

Perhaps more importantly, the Warrior defense will need performances like Friday night’s. The Warriors came up with multiple fourth-and-goal stops against the Eagles and three total turnovers, including a fumble in the end-zone recovered for a touchdown.

Lyndez Smith — a freshman linebacker seeing more time for the Warriors due to injuries to starters — broke through the Eagle defensive line and laid the boom, forcing the fumble that Sha’Rod Williams fell on for the score.

“I’m gonna be honest, I didn’t even know he fumbled the ball. I just thought it was a safety,” said Smith. “I was just trying to get in the backfield and light him up.”

Smith finished with seven tackles, two tackles for loss, a pass breakup, and a forced fumble.

“It’s really encouraging to see a young guy like Lyndez get in there and fly around like that,” said Rochester. “It’s a situation where he may not normally get to see reps, but because of an unfortunate injury situation, he comes in. And he makes the most of it.”

Now 4-1 on the season and 1-1 in 5-A Region 2, the Warriors will look to make the most of their tough upcoming slate. After a performance Rochester was less than fully pleased with against Eastside, they’ll get back to work and try to send shockwaves through the region.

“It’s something to build on, the fact that we can play well below our standard and still win by 25,” Rochester said. “But this won’t hold up these next few weeks. We’ve got to get back to work Sunday, cut out the bad things, and get ready for some tough competition.”