Rebels take on Rattlers for first home game

The Riverside Rebels had their first home game of the season last Friday night. They went up against the Little Snake River Rattlers, a team that is 3-0 this season and coming off a state championship last year. 

It did not go in the Rebels favor as the Rattlers rolled to a 53-0 win. 

“They were a really good team that played a really good football game,” Coach Jason Mitchell said.  “They may get another shot at them in the playoffs so there’s a chance they can face them again and perhaps book a win, but they will have some time to hone their skills and put in the work in practices.” 

Coach Mitchell said, “We definitely have to be more physical with ourselves in practice; there’s only so many drills you can do where you’re working on being physical, that physicality has to come through in the scrimmage portion of practice as well.” 

 In response to how the team reacted to the loss, Coach Mitchell said: “We had a really good talk after the game, you hope that that translates into a better week of practice but you just never know until you get there and go through the practices. If we came out of that with a new understanding of what it takes for us to be at our best, then it will have been worth it I guess.”

There were some moments that stood out. Rebel fans were cheering for the home team at every opportunity. Camden Schriner managed to sack the quarterback to resounding applause and cheering from the fans. There were plenty of tackles that elicited exclamations from both sides and there was good sportsmanship on display from both teams. 

One fan shared their thoughts, “I thought we played good, clean football and the team came back from halftime with a vengeance! Their energy was up and they were making some really good plays. Just goes to show there’s no breaking that Rebel spirit.” 

A sentiment that Coach Mitchell brought up too, “I was really proud of them, that even when it wasn’t looking good for us, they still fought and kept fighting.”

The Rebels’ homecoming game is this Saturday against Kaycee. Kickoff is at 6 p.m.

LSR 53, Riverside 0

RUSHING — Riverside 11-37 (Reece Whisenant 8-24, Wyatt Daly Patterson 1-17, Kenneth McClure 1-2).  

PASSING  — Riverside 9-of-27 for 40 yards (Ryder Kozisek 6-of-22 for 26 yards, Whisenant 2-of-4 for 14 yards, Daly-Patterson 1-of-1 for 0 yards).

RECEIVING — Hyson Hill 4-10, Curtis Strohschein 1-9, Daly-Patterson 1-7, Corbyn Godfrey 1-5, Whisenant 1-0.

DEFENSIVE STANDOUTS — Daly-Patterson led with 16 points (7  solo tackles, 1 pass breakup), followed by Whisenant with 10 (2 assisted tackles, 4 solo tackles) and Zack Kuntz with 10 (1 assisted, 4 solo, 1 tackle for loss).