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Mitchell Holds Off River Ridge 16-10

By RICK HARMON

Tribune correspondent

Published: September 20, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY - It was an empty feeling for River Ridge coach Tim Stevens as he stood on the sideline at the Jim Valentine Athletic Complex.

Stevens and his Royal Knights had watched the final seconds tick off the clock - knowing there was nothing they could do.

Mitchell was able to keep the ball the final 2:52 of the game, gain a crucial first down, and run the clock out to preserve a 16-10 victory.

"We had the game under control and then we gave them a chance to get in it," Mitchell coach Scott Schmitz said. "Our special teams have to do a better job. We missed an extra point. We missed a field goal and then we had the debacle on the punt. We can't do that."

River Ridge trailed the entire game but after Mitchell came away empty following a 15-play drive to start the second half, River Ridge got its chance to get back in the game.

Trailing 16-3, the Royal Knights got the ball on their own 20 following a missed 25-yard field-goal attempt by Mitchell freshman Cody Folson, making his first varsity appearance. River Ridge took over on its own 20 with 2:59 remaining in the third quarter, but three plays later was forced to punt. Mitchell muffed Jack Paris' 44-yard punt and long snapper Bragen Frank recovered the loose ball on the Mustangs' 29.

Six plays later, Stavros Arianas dove over from the 1 to pull the Royal Knights to within six with 10:05 left to play.

Mitchell went three-and-out and the Royal Knights took over on their own 43 with 7:20 remaining. River Ridge moved down field until quarterback Kenny Toce was tackled in the backfield for a 7-yard loss. Two plays later, Paris, who connected on a 50-yard field goal in the second quarter, missed left on a 39-yard attempt, giving the ball back to Mitchell.

"It was fourth-and-14 and with what we have, we thought that was our best chance," said Stevens, whose Royal Knights lost for the 12th straight time. "We were trying to get the field goal there and then try an onside kick to get the ball back. It we get into third-and-8, we're really not experienced enough to have a high percentage of converting."

River Ridge had two timeouts remaining but when Mustangs quarterback Cody Van de Boe rushed for 12 yards on a third-and-9 from their own 21, Stevens had to use the remaining timeouts, and on fourth-and-7, Van de Boe didn't have to take a snap as time expired.

Sophomore Ricky Trinidad, who scored on a 46-yard run, led the Mustangs with 140 yards on 20 carries. Van de Boe attempted only three passes, completing one for 9 yards. Trevor Shoun and Arianas combined for 102 yards rushing while Toce was 2-for-5 for 1 yard passing.