Lake County Sentinel
Riverside Hangs on to Defeat Green 16-15
BY KEN KRIZNER
STAFF
(PAINESVILLE TWP, OH) - Painesville Riverside survived a Green comeback in the fourth quarter by one point and one yard, earning a hard-fought 16-15 home victory.
The Beavers (2-0) entered the fourth quarter with a 16-6 lead, primarily on the legs of senior running back Kyndall McCaleb.
But the Bulldogs dominated the final quarter, running about twice as many plays as the Beavers. Green closed to win seven on a 31-yard field goal by junior Logan Noirot, his third of the night. With less than a minute to go, senior running back Anthony McMichael III scored on a fourth-down run from the 1 yard line.
Green Head Coach Mark Geis decided to go for the win. On the two-point conversion, McMichael took a swing pass from senior quarterback Tyson Hunka. McMichael broke two tackles but could not break a third, falling 1 yard short.
It was an even game as indicated by the fact that the total yards for each team was 272.
The win exacted some revenge for Riverside, which was ousted from last year’s Division II playoffs by the Bulldogs 35-14.
“Except for our playoff game last year, it is always tight, hard-fought, competitive games with Green,” said Riverside Head Coach Jeremy Ishmael. “They are a tough football team.”
After Green’s first drive sputtered near midfield, Nick Wygle’s punt pinned the Beavers back at their own 9-yard line.
Green’s defense began the game by keying on McCaleb. Sophomore quarterback Bo Brandenhoff twice faked handoffs to McCaleb and ran for 20 yards to move Riverside out of the shadow of its own goal line. Then McCaleb busted one for 41 yards breaking several tackles and putting the Beavers in Green territory.
A quarterback sack by Green was nullified by a horse collar penalty putting the ball on the Bulldogs’ 9 yard line. After a holding penalty set Riverside back to the 19 yard line, Brandenhoff hit senior wide receiver Rhys Sas on a down-and-out for the Beaver touchdown and a 6-0 lead.
On Green’s next possession, Hunka scrambled for 12 yards to put the ball on the 50 yard line. Once again, the Bulldogs drive stalled at midfield and Wygle again pinned Riverside back near its own end zone at the 6 yard line. But on second down, McCaleb went around the right end and took the ball 91 yards for a touchdown.
Riverside finished the first quarter with a 13-0 lead as McCaleb ran for 144 yards on four carries (a 36-yard average) and the touchdown.
Green finally got on the scoreboard on the first of Noirot’s field goals, this one from 21 yards, in the second quarter. The drive was aided by a pass interference penalty in the endzone against senior defensive back Spencer Short.
Riverside’s next possession was a 3-and-out and Green started the drive at its 38 yard line. After two runs totaling 16 yards put Green inside Riverside territory, the Beavers’ defense stiffened and on third down, sophomore Ryan Wade intercepted a Hunka pass and returned it 26 yards.
McCaleb finished the first half with 151 yards on 6 rushes and a touchdown, plus one reception for 10 yards, while Brandehoff completed 3 of 7 passes for 33 yards and one touchdown.
The Beavers took the second-half kickoff and primarily on the legs of McCaleb got the ball to the Green 9 yard line. But the Bulldogs stuffed McCaleb on successive plays. Senior Leo D’Astolfo connected on a 26 yard field goal to increase Riverside’s lead to 16-3.
Green answered with a drive mainly on the ground. On fourth down and 2 from the Riverside 13, McMichael kept the drive alive by picking up a first down on a fourth-down play. But the Bulldogs again could not get into the end zone, and Noirot converted his second field goal of the game, this time from 20 yards.
One field goal by each team in the third quarter made the score Riverside 16-6 going into the fourth quarter.
On the first drive of the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs went from their own 35 yard line to the Riverside 14 yard line behind the running of McMichael and a key scramble by Hunka of 13 yards. From there, the Beavers defense stopped Green for no gain leading to the Noirot field goal.
Two plays later, Brandehoff and McCaleb could not execute a handoff and the fumble was recovered by Green’s Dario Lombardi at Riverside’s 37 yard line.
A 15-yard face mask penalty got the ball to the 22 yard. McMichael converted a fourth and 1 at the 12 to keep the drive going. A 10-yard score by Hunka was nullified by Green’s second holding penalty of the drive. On the next play, a wide-open McMichael could not haul in Hunka’s pass. Faced with a fourth-down play, Hunka scrambled and had an open field to the end zone but was run down by junior defensive lineman Ayden Doytek.
Taking over at their own 5 with 3:40 remaining, Riverside could not convert and was forced to punt from its own endzone. Morse’s 21-yard punt gave Green the ball at the Riverside 30 with 2½ minutes remaining.
Two Hunka passes set Green up at the 10 yard line but an illegal procedure penalty backed up the Bulldogs 5 yards. On third down, Hunka hit junior wide receiver Sam Dubravetz at the 1 yard line, which was followed by McMichael’s touchdown.
After missing the two-point conversion, Green attempted an onside kick, which was recovered by Riverside. The Beavers ran out the clock from there.
Riverside’s offense started hot but stalled in the second haIf. Ishmael says the Beavers have to find a way to maintain consistency on offense in the second half.
“We started out playing physical but we fizzled at the end,” he says. “We have to find a way to keep the physical play going as the game goes on.”
For most of the night, Riverside’s defense, while giving up some yards, made plays to stop Green drives. In the fourth quarter, however, Green controlled the line of scrimmage.
“They decided in the second half they were going to try to out-physical us, and we took it on the chin for a while, before we recovered,” Ishmael says.
McCaleb finished with 14 carries and 195 yards on the ground, while McMichael finished with 19 carries and 66 yards to lead Green’s offense.
Next Friday, Painesville Riverside will play host to the Erie (Pa.) Cathedral Prep Ramblers.
POSTED 08/30/2025 00:23
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Photo by Ken Krizner
