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River Ridge recovers, grabs win

The Knights survive three turnovers to Hudson in the first half to win in overtime, 13-7.

By WAYNE GRUMET

© St. Petersburg Times,
published September 22, 2001

NEW PORT RICHEY -- River Ridge coach Mike DeGennaro has been waiting for his football team to play with some heart. On Friday, DeGennaro finally got what he wanted.

Host River Ridge outlasted Hudson 13-7 in overtime to pick up its first win of the season. The Knights recovered from a three-turnover first half to top a tough Hudson squad.

"This is the first time this year that I've seen my team come out and play when they needed to," said DeGennaro. Sophomore quarterback Ryan Mistal stepped in for a hobbled Tim Dare. Dare finished his three drives in the first half with a fumble and two interceptions.

Mistal stepped in after halftime and was 5-for-5 with 77 yards passing. Mistal's biggest play came in overtime, when he avoided a sack on third-and-goal from the Hudson 6-yard-line. Mistal managed to avoid three tacklers en route to the winning score.

"Ryan's a poised kid. He was our JV quarterback and was doing a good job there," DeGennaro said.

River Ridge's defense put the exclamation point on the victory by stuffing Hudson in overtime. River Ridge's Adam Eberle did most of the damage, stopping Hudson quarterback Robert Petrucci twice in four plays for a loss of 10 yards.

Hudson (2-1), however, never backed down from River Ridge (1-3) during regulation. The Cobras racked up 169 yards rushing and answered almost every challenge River Ridge gave them.

"We're not satisfied that we lost but I'm happy with their effort," Hudson coach Terry Voyles said. "They really played their butts off. They're bigger than we are and they're faster than we are."

Hudson running back Kenny Eva punished River Ridge for 124 yards on 24 carries. Eva's 10-yard run capped a 10-play, 67-yard scoring drive in the third quarter.

The Cobras had answered a 9-play, 63-yard scoring drive by the Knights to tie the game at 7. Eberle, who rushed for 102 yards, capped the Knights' scoring drive with a 3-yard run.

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