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TAYLOR — The high-powered Riverside offense quickly dashed any upset chances Hanover Area had in mind.
An early fumble and a botched punt snap allowed for Riverside — a team with proficiency for throwing the ball downfield — to run up a 12-point lead with just three plays and 18 yards of total offense.
Riverside went on to a 39-13 victory over the Hawkeyes on Friday.
“We’re starting to feed into the process and the program,” Hanover Area coach Rick Hummer said. “They’re good kids. They’re getting it. We don’t have an easy schedule. We put in another defense this week, and it just didn’t work.”
The lopsided result disguised an entertaining back-and-forth battle of two contrasting offensive stars.
Hanover Area’s Hunter Karpowich bruised his way to 218 rushing yards. On his final carry — amazingly, his 38th of the night — he picked up his only touchdown of the game. Karpowich somehow had gas remaining in his tank to cruise control to an 18-yard score against a Vikings defense that had grown tired of his bruising runs up the middle.
“He’s probably one of the toughest kids on the team,” Hummer said. “He doesn’t say a word. He just does his business. He has a bum knee. He just came out there and said, ‘I’m ready to go.’ He’s just a tough kid.”
The Vikings countered with Johnny Gilchrist’s five passing touchdowns. Gilchrist completed half of his 32 attempts for 301 yards.
With charitable offensive possession, thanks to gifts provided by the Hawkeyes’ offense and special teams, the Vikings did not have any explosive production in a first half that saw them finish with an 18-0 advantage.
Shawn Torres went 92 yards for a kickoff return to open the second half. On their next possession, Gilchrist found the tips of Razen Reyes’ fingers for a near-perfect 51 yard strike downfield.
Following Karpovich’s
touchdown, Reyes caught his eighth of the night for an 80-yard touchdown catch. Reyes finishes with 204 yards receiving.
Riverside 39, Hanover Area 13
Hanover Area`0`0`6`7`—`13
Riverside`12`6`14`14`—`39
First quarter
R — Jay Koller 10 pass from Johnny Gilchrist (run failed), 9:50
R — Koller 7 pass from Gilchrist (run fail), 7:41
Second quarter
R — Diego Rojas 23 pass from Gilchrist (Tanner Bednarski interception), 8:43
Third quarter
R — Shawn Torres 92 kick return (Koller from Gilchrist), 11:45
R — Razen Reyes 51 pass from Gilchrist (run fail), 8:30
H — Matthew Salwoski 4 run (pass fail), 1:19
Fourth quarter
H —Hunter Karpowich 18 run (Auggie George kick), 4:38
R —Reyes 80 pass from Gilchrist (14 kick), 4:23
Team statistics`H`R
First downs`18`11
Rushes-yards`59-214`9-34
Passing yards`33`301
Total yards`247`335
Passing`3-11-0`16-32-0
Sacked-yards lost`4-30`1-5
Punts-avg.`4-42.5`28`3-3-33
Fumbles-lost`5-2`2-1
Penalties-yards`2-20`3-25
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — HAN Karpowich 38-218, Justin Stefanowicz 6-11, Peter Hibbard 5-46, Salwoski 3-(minus-2), Joe Curcio 4-(minus-34), TEAM 3-(minus-25). RIV Kristian Pon 1-6, Alex Jaworski 2-8, Reyes 3-21, Gilchrist 3-(minus-1).
PASSING — HAN Curcio 1-7-0-4, Salwoski 2-4-0-29. RIV Gilchrist 16-32-0-304.
RECEIVING — HAN Connor Hummer 1-4, Karpovich 1-5, Bobby Sabecky 1-24. RIV Pon 1-8, Koller 4-46, Rojas 2-43, Reyes 8-204.
INTERCEPTIONS — None.