(Oakland) Riverside looks to use quickness to their advantage this football season.
One of the keys to an eight game win streak last year was a stingy defense. They allowed only 9.6 points per game over their first nine contests of the 2020 season. “Up front we have Nate Messerschmidt, Wyatt Forsythe, and Jon Alff. They’ve done pretty good for us so far and hopefully they can bring us more. Our linebacker group is pretty much the same as last year with JJ Wilson, Brody Zimmerman, we moved Jace Rose into the inside, and we also have Rhett Bentley moving in there also. We are going to count on them alot.” Another linebacker from last year was Nolan Moore. Coach Darrell Frain says, “We have Ayden Salais in the back end at safety, Grady Jeppesen at corner, and Liam Fagan. None of them are very big, but hopefully our quickness can take care of business for us.”
The Bulldogs don’t have a lot of size, but will utilize some speed with a three down linemen and five linebacker alignment. “It lets you create a little more pressure. You can blitz more, it’s easier to drop into pass coverages.” Frain says, “It lets us be more flexible.”
Coach Darrell Frain says their identity remains to be seen on offense. He’d love to run the ball, but their personnel may be better equipped for a passing attack. “Early in the year we may have to open it up a little bit more and throw just for the fact that all of our linemen are new. Right now we don’t know what we have up front. They have to prove themselves this week and hopefully we can run the ball a little bit. We definitely can spread it out. I know we can throw the ball, so if we have to rely on that we will.”
QB Austin Kremkoski was the offensive MVP in the district last year after passing for 22 TD’s and over 1,500 yards. “Austin’s confidence is the biggest thing right now. We’ve always known he can throw the ball pretty well and now he understands everything he is doing and he can control the offense and lead the offense.” Frain says, “We’ve got some guys I think that can catch it. Grady Jeppesen, Ayden Salais, Jace Rose, our Y’s with Hayden Hensley and Aiden Bell and then also Rhett Bentley out of the backfield.”
Bentley can be a force in a variety of ways. “He brings a lot because he has that quickness and that initial burst to get to the hole. He has great hands out of the backfield. He’s a great receiver for us. He brings a lot to the table for us and we are going to count on him.”
Frain says Red Oak is somewhat of an unknown with a new coaching staff. “I expect a pretty good challenge anytime you move up a couple classes and play a team you get kids that are a little bigger and sometimes faster and also have bigger numbers on you.” Riverside won last year’s meeting 45-0 and held the Tigers to just 86 yards of offense.
Riverside coach Darrell Frain:
