Warriors mauled by Daniel at home, 56-14

The Warriors will look to bounce back from two-straight blowout defeats when they travel to face Wade Hampton this Friday. Riverside has managed just 14 points on offense in its two most recent matchups, losses to Spartanburg and Daniel.

Wrapping up a grueling non-region schedule, Riverside fell at the hands of the visiting Daniel Lions on Friday night, 56-14.

Daniel got off to a fast start against the Warriors, with touchdown runs from Tory Shaw, Kolton Chapman, and Ja’Kari Bennett giving the Lions a 35-0 lead midway through the second. Zyrell Abercrombie was able to pull a touchdown back for Riverside just before halftime with a one-yard plunge into the end zone, but it was too little, too late.

The Lions outgained the Warriors 435-120 on the way to a comfortable 42-point victory.

“As far as looks, [Daniel]didn’t show anything we weren’t expecting,” said Riverside offensive coordinator Mario Cusano. “But what Daniel does really well is being consistent. You’ve got to be really patient when you play a defense like Daniel’s.”

The win moved Daniel — the number-one ranked 3-A team in South Carolina — to 5-0 on the year. With the loss, Riverside was defeated for the second straight week and dropped to 3-3 ahead of the Warriors’ first region matchup.

“We tried everything, even rotating quarterbacks at a certain point of the game,” said Cusano. “But Daniel is probably one of the most disciplined defenses we’ve seen all year.”

Despite the last two showings being less than competitive for the Warriors, Cusano believes the quality of opponents Riverside has faced will prepare them for upcoming region play and the team’s goal of capturing a region title.

“Coach [Matt] Rochester does it well, the way he schedules it so that right when we’re heading into region, we’re playing some of the toughest teams we can possibly play,” said Cusano. “You play those tough teams, and you’ve kind of faced some adversity heading into region. If you want to win a region championship, you’ve got to face some of that.”

The Warriors head to Wade Hampton Friday night to open their region slate. Cusano is confident the Warriors will be fired up and ready to go with everything still to play for.

“I don’t know how to describe the air or the energy in the room, but I think everybody’s ready for Friday coming off these two tough losses.

“These guys want a big win, for sure. They need one. We feel like we deserve one after taking one on the teeth the past two weeks.”