Northgate uses explosive plays to defeat Riverview

By: George Guido
Saturday, September 10, 2022 | 7:42 PM

Northgate’s big-play offense proved to be too much Saturday afternoon for the Riverview Raiders.

The Flames scored five touchdowns on plays of 45 yards or more in a 32-26 victory over the Raiders at Oakmont’s Riverside Park.

Junior Austin Mitchell ran for 156 yards on six carries and scored from 45, 65 and 49 yards. Senior receiver Lewis Clark had five receptions for 169 yards and two touchdowns for the 2-1 Flames.

“We’ve got a lot of playmakers on the team,” Northgate coach Chris Lucas said. “Our coaching staff does a great job scheming every week to get them in the right position.”

The Raiders dropped to 2-1 after the nonconference loss. The Flames take a 5-4 lead in the all-times series, which resumed after a nine-year hiatus.

While Northgate utilized a quick-strike offense, Riverview (1-2) was content with long, time-consuming drives. The Raiders had four offensive drives of five minutes or more.

“We had a lot of positives,” Riverview coach Trevor George said. “They got us on a couple big plays. Our kids fought the entire game.”

The Flames scored on the fifth play of the game, a 47-yard pass from Sonteon Layne to Clark. The Raiders answered quickly as a 30-yard run by freshman Rio Stotts set up a 2-yard keeper by Rocco Cecere.

Riverview took the lead late in the first quarter on a 2-yard run by Johnny Bertucci, set up by a 73-yard pass from Cecere to Stotts.

Mitchell’s scoring runs gave the Flames an 18-14 lead at the half.

The Raiders tried to show they could pick up huge chunks of yardage after the second-half kickoff. Bertucci’s 24-yard run was followed by Carlo Buzzatto’s 35-yard run to give the Raiders a 20-18 lead.

Riverview suffered a number of injuries, the most serious coming to Jack Loughren. The junior defensive back suffered what appeared to be a serious leg injury and was on the ground for a considerable amount of time before he was taken away by an ambulance. His status was undetermined after the game.

The loss fired up the Riverview defense. In seven of the next nine Northgate plays, the Raiders had six tackles for losses and one incomplete pass on a rush of the quarterback.

Said George: “Jack’s a huge part of our family. The kids played for him. Losing Jack hurt, but our young kids did the job the way they played for each other and played for Jack. At one point, we had five freshmen on the field. In single-A, it’s the next-man-up mentality.”

In a key play after the Raiders regained possession, sophomore Jake Lenoski picked up a fumble and Mitchell tallied a 49-yarder on the ensuing play.

“That was a huge turning point,” Lucas said. “After that kid got hurt, Riverview came out flying. When something happens like that to a player on your team, you want to do as much as you can for him.”

In the fourth quarter, Riverview drove 75 yards on 11 plays with Cecere scoring from the 2. That cut the Northgate lead to 32-26 with 1 minute, 40 seconds to go. Kaden Stiger pounced on a Raiders onside kick, and the Flames were able to run out the clock.

Riverview got good work in the backfield with Bertucci carrying for 86 yards. Stotts had 82 and Buzzatto 77.

Tags: Northgate, Riverview