RIDDLE – In the final game of the regular season the riddle football team rose to the occasion and took
care of the visiting Glendale Pirates 40-20 to secure a spot in the O.S.A.A. 1A eight man playoffs, their
first playoff berth since 1995. It didn’t hurt that this was also the Irish’s Homecoming game and held on Friday, October 31, Halloween no less. Also adding fuel to the fire was that someone had decided to paint the usually white big R, red.
Riddle came out firing early and took a 6-0 lead on a 54 yard gallop by Isaiah Ibrahim and maintained that lead throughout the first quarter. They built that lead to 12-0 in the second when quarterback Layton Rainwater hit Stephen Nordyke on a six yard strike.
Glendale was not to be outdone and the rest of the second quarter belonged to the Pirates as they built a 14-12 lead at the half. A halftime speech by Ibrahim about just going out and having fun seemed to motivate the Irish as they came out charged up and took the lead back for good in the third with another rushing touchdown by Ibrahim, this one from 21 yards out. The conversion failed but Riddle had the lead 18-14.
In the fourth the Irish pushed the lead out even more as Ibrahim found the end zone for the third time on the night, this time from 10 yards away. The conversion was good and Riddle led 26-14. With about five minutes left in the game Glendale cashed in on a 56 yard pass to cut the deficit to 26-20. On their next possession the Irish took care of business as Jonathan Harp burst through the middle and 44 yards later was in the end zone for another score and with successful conversion Riddle led by 14, 34-20. Harp capped off the night on Glendale’s ensuing possession as he intercepted a Rocha pass and took it 51 yards to the house with no time left on the clock for the game ending pick six giving the Irish a 40-20 victory.
The Irish defense stood strong in the second half only allowing just 25 yards over the two quarters not counting the 56 yard scoring play. Riddle Head Coach Jason Luft praised his defense for their second half play. He also noted that the return of Austin Dean in the second half sparked the team. Dean sat out the first half due to injury. The Irish now face the sixth-ranked and seeded Imber Panthers on Saturday, November 8. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.
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