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WILKES-BARRE — Riverside entered Friday night’s Eastern Conference Class 2A Championship as the underdog. Meyers entered the game on its home field as the favorite for being the higher seed.

By the time the first quarter was over, the Vikings looked like the favorite.

Riverside dominated possession in the first quarter, running 26 plays to the Mohawks’ three. Meyers came out flat and couldn’t recover falling 27-16 at Wilkes-Barre Memorial Stadium.

“We only had four offensive plays in the whole first quarter,” Meyers coach Jeff Labatch said. “That’s tough to get something started.”

Even though the first 12 minutes ended scoreless, Riverside clearly had the advantage, holding Meyers to just 1 yard on three plays — and a punt — and just 1 minute, 21 seconds of time with the ball. That carried over to the second. The Vikings’ second drive ended with a 1-yard TD run by Paul Coleman, putting the team in front 6-0 with 11:14 remaining before halftime.

Three times on the drive, Riverside converted on third downs, including a third-and-25, along with the TD run by Coleman. The Vikings also converted on a third-and-14 in the second quarter, and scored a TD in the fourth quarter on a fourth-and-9.

“We couldn’t get anything started offensively, and defensively we had a lot of third-and-longs and gave up first downs. We couldn’t finish it,” Labatch said. “I think we couldn’t get anything going offensively so we tried to get the big play and never established the run game, which is how we got here.”

The Mohawks had chances after Coleman’s score, recovering a fumble and a muffed punt in the second quarter. But both of those possessions ended in punts after just three plays.

Just before halftime, the Vikings went ahead 14-0 on a 20-yard TD pass from Kenny Kielar to Nick Sottile, who was just starting his big game. Sottile returned a punt 47 yards for a score in the third quarter and hauled in a 13-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter to put Riverside in front 27-0 with 10:31 remaining.

“He’s a good athlete,” Labatch said about Sottile. “They’re a good team all around. They played hard and are tough kids.”

Meyers got on the board in the fourth when Willie Wallace found Mark Robinson for a 49-yard scoring strike with 9:21 left, trimming the deficit to 27-8. The Mohawks other TD came with just 14 seconds left on a 4-yard TD run by Reese Patronick.

In a game that lasted just under three hours, tempers flared throughout, with several stoppages for injuries and penalties. The teams combined for 233 yards in penalties, with Meyers amassing 133 yards on 10 calls while only totaling 175 yards of offense.

“I don’t know how may 15-yard penalties we had, but we had a lot,” Labatch added.

Seven of Meyers’ 10 penalties were of the 15-yard variety.

Eastern Conf. 2A Championship

Riverside 27, Meyers 16

Riverside`0`14`6`7`—`27

Meyers`0`0`0`16`—`16

Second quarter

RIV — Paul Coleman 1 run (kick failed) 11:14

RIV — Nick Sottile 20 pass from Kenny Kielar (Matthew Fallon pass from Kielar) :55

Third quarter

RIV — Sottile 47 punt return (run failed) 5:24

Fourth quarter

RIV — Sottile 13 pass from Cody Glogowski (Sottile kick) 10:31

MEY — Mark Robinson 49 pass from Willie Wallace (Reese Patronick pass from Janssen Wilborn) 9:21

MEY — Patronick 4 run (Wilborn run) :14

Team statistics`RIV`MEY

First downs`14`6

Rushes-yards`51-88`23-58

Passing yards`120`117

Total yards`208`175

Passing`7-12-0`7-17-1

Sacked-yards lost`3-22`4-23

Punts-avg.`3-39.6`5-27.2

Fumbles-lost`4-2`2-2

Penalties-yards`11-100`10-133

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — RIV, Mikkell Green 22-47, Paul Coleman 17-68, Kenny Kielar 2-(minus-15), TEAM 4-(minus-4), Cody Glogowski 5-(minus-5), David Coolbaugh 1-(minus-4). MEY, Jason Martson 2-1, Mark Robinson 9-33, Josh Schiowitz 1-2, Willie Wallace 6-(minus-19), Fahbian Biggs 1-0, Raheem Twyman 1-5, Janssen Wilborn 1-29, Tyriq Hatcher 1-3, Reese Patronick 1-4.

PASSING — RIV, Kielar 7-12-0-120. MEY, Wallace 7-17-1-1178

RECEIVING — RIV, Coleman 3-33, Green 2-42, Nick Sottile 2-45. MEY, Omar Kelly 3-50, Robinson 2-55, Twyman 1-9, Steven Morel 1-3.

INTERCEPTIONS — RIV, Glogowski.

MISSED FGs — none

Riverside’s Nicholas Sottile, left, knocks the ball away from Meyers intended receiver Omar Kelly in the Eastern Conference Class 2A championship game at Wilkes-Barre Memorial Stadium on Friday night.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_Meyers-RiversideFB_4.jpg.optimal.jpgRiverside’s Nicholas Sottile, left, knocks the ball away from Meyers intended receiver Omar Kelly in the Eastern Conference Class 2A championship game at Wilkes-Barre Memorial Stadium on Friday night. Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader

Meyers’ Mark Robinson, right, runs a sweep around Riverside’s Paul Coleman and Jonathan Tucker in the Eastern Conference Class 2A championship game at Wilkes-Barre Memorial Stadium on Friday night.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_Meyers-RiversideFB_2.jpg.optimal.jpgMeyers’ Mark Robinson, right, runs a sweep around Riverside’s Paul Coleman and Jonathan Tucker in the Eastern Conference Class 2A championship game at Wilkes-Barre Memorial Stadium on Friday night. Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader

The Meyers Mohawks storm the field at Wilkes-Barre Memorial Stadium to face the Riverside Vikings in the Eastern Conference Class 2A championship game on Friday night.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_Meyers-RiversideFB_1.jpg.optimal.jpgThe Meyers Mohawks storm the field at Wilkes-Barre Memorial Stadium to face the Riverside Vikings in the Eastern Conference Class 2A championship game on Friday night. Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader

Meyers’ Alfonso Mondragon, left, chases down Riverside’s Mikkell Green in the Eastern Conference Class 2A championship game at WIlkes-Barre Memorial Stadium on Friday night.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_Meyers-RiversideFB_3.jpg.optimal.jpgMeyers’ Alfonso Mondragon, left, chases down Riverside’s Mikkell Green in the Eastern Conference Class 2A championship game at WIlkes-Barre Memorial Stadium on Friday night. Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader

By Dave Rosengrant

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Reach Dave Rosengrant at 570-991-6398 or on Twitter @tldrosengrant