Perfect storm sinks Warriors in upset loss to Laurens, 18-17
Riverside struggled to find its footing in all three phases of the ball Friday night, as Laurens capitalized on several Warrior mistakes to claim a one-point victory.
Everything was just a little off-centered for Riverside against Laurens on Friday night.
The Warrior offense struggled to move and get the ball to their playmakers in space.
The defense had a hard time staying together as a team and adjusting to Laurens’ game plan, one that involved a lot of quick, short throws and power running.
On special teams, a punt snapped out of the back of the end zone gave away two free points in the third quarter.
And as a result of Friday’s perfect storm, Laurens came away with an 18-17 upset win at The Reservation. The packed Riverside crowd was left shocked. The 30 or so traveling Raider fans were loud and ecstatic.
“Hats off to Laurens and Coach [Daryl] Smith. They put together a really good plan, came in, and executed,” said Riverside head coach Matt Rochester. “From our end, we just didn’t do the little things right. We didn’t have enough concentration or focus on this game.
“We made a lot of mental mistakes, low football IQ plays… you look at that safety we took and look back and think ‘Dang, we lost by one. This game could’ve been different.’”
The game began on an ominous note for Riverside, as an onside kick attempt by the Warriors on the opening kickoff was recovered with ease by the Raiders. They’d convert the great field position into a field goal to take an early 3-0 lead.
The Warriors marched back down the field, scoring on a 6-yard run from wide receiver Mikkel Skinner just as the first quarter came to a close. Laurens answered in the second quarter with a goal-line plunge from quarterback Nick Danciu, giving the Raiders a 10-7 halftime lead.
After the break, Riverside looked to have found a spark. Quarterback Jacob Medlin led the Warriors straight down the field to begin the half, finding the end zone with his legs via a 36-yard touchdown run.
But the aforementioned safety brought Laurens within 14-12, before a late fourth-quarter 73-yard touchdown pass from Danciu to wide receiver Josh Goodwin gave Laurens the lead for good. They’d bleed the clock the next time they got the ball, leaving Riverside with virtually no chance of putting a last-minute drive together.
“This one definitely hurts. But we’ve got to find a way to get better from it,” said Rochester. “It’s all about how you move forward. There’s still a lot in front of us. We can still manage our way through this region. We’ve just got to make sure we take care of our business.”
The Warriors’ next order of business? A Friday night rivalry game against Eastside at The Reservation. Eastside is coming off a 28-14 loss to Greer—another 4-A Region 2 favorite—in a game that saw the Eagles stay tied with the Jackets until the fourth quarter.
Rochester knows the stakes. A win keeps the Warriors within striking distance of at least a share of the region crown. A loss, and those dreams are all but shattered.
“We’ve got to respond now,” said Rochester. “It’s all on us. We’ve got to be prepared, week in and week out. All things happen for a reason, so hopefully we learn from this game and get better moving forward.”