Leesburg, Va. — After taking a 31-7 lead into the fourth quarter, it felt as if the Riverside High School football team thought the game was over. Heritage High School, however, had other plans. The Pride scored two touchdowns and recovered a successful onside kick to raise the heartbeats of most of the fans in the stands, before a late defensive stand for the Rams gave Riverside a 31-20 win on September 6 in Leesburg.
“The big boys up front stepped up and made some good reads,” senior quarterback Robert Evelyn said. “That’s all in the coaches, too. We called a great game plan, and we executed.”
Riverside senior kicker Owen Saraceno started the game with a kickoff that went out the back of the endzone to set Heritage up on their own 20 yard line. The Pride drove down the field with a 4th-and-2 conversion by senior running back Obi Nwanneka on their own 39 yard line.
The Pride had a 1st-and-10 on the Rams’ 31 yard line when senior quarterback Mason Holst swung a quick screen pass to senior wide receiver Colin Mihelic on the left side, who raced to the outside, strolled down the sideline, and outran the defense to put Heritage up 7-0 on their first drive of the game.
That lead was short-lived, however, as Riverside answered on the ensuing drive. Evelyn threw up a high touch pass that fell into the hands of senior wide receiver Grant MacBean—who caught six passes for 132 yards and three touchdowns—in the back of the endzone. Saraceno hit the PAT to tie the game up at 7-7 with just over four minutes left in the first quarter.
On its next offensive drive, Riverside moved down to Heritage’s 33 yard line, but a holding call backed up the offense to the 43. The Rams took a shot to the endzone to start the second quarter, as MacBean beat the cornerback and a high lofted pass by Evelyn gave the Rams a 14-7 lead on a touchdown that looked very similar to their first touchdown.
A back-and-forth battle in the second quarter saw a safety almost happen after Riverside senior linebacker Ed Abbott sacked Holst on the Pride’s 1 yard line. Heritage senior punter William Lees had to punt from the back of his own endzone and gave Riverside the ball back with 90 seconds left in the first half.
A Rams penalty for holding and a 3-yard rush by Evelyn to evade the pursuing defenders set up a 2nd-and-17 on the Heritage side on the 50. A quick screen pass to junior wide receiver Jordan Allen for 10 yards put Riverside on the Heritage 27 yard line with 40 seconds left in the half. Then, Evelyn threw up another pass to the back of the endzone that MacBean hauled in. Saraceno made the PAT, and Riverside was up 21-7.
“Robert is a great quarterback, and MacBean is a great receiver, so we just got that one-two punch that they can throw at any time,” Riverside head coach Ernie Porter said.
The Rams were not done in the second quarter. MacBean intercepted a pass at the Heritage 49 yard line with 20 seconds left in the quarter. Three quick passes from Evelyn to junior running back Amari Barron, Allen, and MacBean worked to set up Saraceno for a 21-yard field goal attempt. He made the field goal after a high snap to give the Rams a 24-7 halftime lead.
A Riverside drive that ended in a punt gave Heritage the opportunity to reduce the lead to open up the third quarter. But the Rams’ defense thwarted the Pride attempt as Riverside sophomore defensive back Axel Quintana picked off a pass thrown behind the receiver and scored on a pick six to put the Rams up 31-7.
On the ensuing drive, Holst rolled out right after being chased down by defenders, before Riverside senior linebacker Pearson Leinbach picked off the Pride gunslinger.
Two missed receptions and two penalties backed the Rams up for a 3rd-and-25 on the Pride’s 30 yard line. Evelyn tried to find MacBean crossing over the middle, but the ball bounced off his hands and into the arms of Mihelic.
The resulting drive ended in a punt, but Heritage got the ball back to start the fourth quarter. A 3rd-and-24 from the Rams’ 29 yard line needed a big play from Heritage. Holst found Mihelic and they thought that the result of the play was a touchdown, but Mihelic stepped out at the three. They gave the ball to Nwanneka and rushed it up the middle for a touchdown to reduce the lead to 17.
A miscommunication by Riverside on the ensuing kickoff gave the ball back to Heritage. Mihelic found a hole in the defense and a 12-yard touchdown reduced the lead to 11. A failed two point conversion attempt made it 31-20 lead for the Rams.
“We talked about finishing,” Porter said. “Heritage is a great team. They’re not going to give up.”
Riverside waited for the kickoff after the touchdown, but Heritage had a trick up their sleeves. A Pat McAfee-style onside kick was recovered by Lees to keep the ball with the Pride around midfield.
Heritage got inside the redzone, but the Riverside defense held up. Holst lofted a ball up to the back of the endzone, but Riverside senior defensive back Griffin Mbengue broke up the pass to give the Rams the ball back with just over three minutes left.
Heritage got the ball back with 70 seconds left on the clock after a punt, but the Riverside defense caused a turnover on downs as the Rams held off the Pride, 31-20.
Riverside (0-0, 1-1) stays at home next Friday, September 13 for their homecoming game against Dominion. Heritage (0-1, 0-2) returns home on the same date to play Potomac Falls.
“That’s a homecoming game so we’ll have a big crowd,” Porter said. “We’ll be excited for it.”
Aubrey Erice captured 250+ photos at the game!
Scoring Plays
| Period | Time | Team | Play | Score |
| 1Q | 8:15 | Heritage | Mason Holst to Colin Mihelic 32-yard TD pass (Liam Lees PAT) | 0-7 |
| 1Q | 4:10 | Riverside | Robert Evelyn to Grant MacBean 24-yard TD pass (Owen Saraceno PAT) | 7-7 |
| 2Q | 11:35 | Riverside | Robert Evelyn to Grant MacBean 43-yard TD pass (Owen Saraceno PAT) | 14-7 |
| 2Q | 0:31 | Riverside | Robert Evelyn to Grant MacBean 27-yard TD pass (Owen Saraceno PAT) | 21-7 |
| 2Q | 0:00 | Riverside | Owen Saraceno 21-yard field goal | 24-7 |
| 3Q | 8:28 | Riverside | Axel Quintana interception return TD (Owen Saraceno PAT) | 31-7 |
| 4Q | 10:07 | Heritage | Obi Nwanneka 3-yard TD run (Liam Lees PAT) | 31-14 |
| 4Q | 9:23 | Heritage | Colin Mihelic 12-yard TD run (2pt failed) | 31-20 |