Riverview overcomes mistakes to beat Beth-Center in opener

By: Josh Rizzo
Saturday, August 23, 2025 | 4:33 PM

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If the Riverview football program spent much more time trying to dig holes Saturday at Riverside Park, it might have bored a tunnel under the Allegheny River to Freeport Road.

The Raiders shook off six turnovers to grab a 34-19 season-opening win against Beth-Center.

Riverview not getting overwhelmed by mistakes made sixth-year Riverview coach Trevor George proud. He’s been preaching the mentality to his kids for years.

“It’s good to see the growth,” George said. “Mentality-wise, in the past (the turnovers) would have been the downfall of the game. We wouldn’t have been sure if we would have gotten out of the hole or not.”

Riverview’s first possession was halted when Bulldogs defensive back Nick Miller made a leaping interception on a pass by Connor Kmetz. The Bulldogs (0-1) marched 32 yards and capped the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run by Enzo Baker.

Riverview lost another fumble on the next drive, but was able to get the ball right back. The Raiders (1-0) scored their first touchdown when Kmetz found Dom Williams for a 10-yard touchdown late in the first quarter.

It was the only touchdown Riverview’s offense scored in the first half.

“I feel like we can critique things,” said receiver Max Kratt, who finished with 81 receiving and 55 rushing yards. “Up front we have to work, and we have to work on holding onto the ball. It was a good game for us. We had lots of improvement.”

A long punt return by Cyncere Cruz set up Beth-Center’s second touchdown, a 17-yard run by Enzo Baker. Riverview surged ahead 14-13 when Miles Sigal ripped the ball away from a Bulldog runner and went 8 yards for a score late in the first half.

“I had no idea how he did that,” George said. “I was talking to Connor (Kmetz) when someone started calling for the extra-point team.”

Cruz provided Beth-Center with another jolt. He ran the opening kick back 85 yards for a score to put the Bulldogs back ahead 19-14.

“We’ve been down before,” Sigal said. “We play with a disadvantage all the time. We can’t give up. It was still in reach, only a one-touchdown game, we had to take it to them and no one can stop us.”

Lukas Duncan put Riverview back ahead with a 10-yard touchdown run. After Rio Stotts threw a 2-point conversion on a jump pass to Sigal, the Raiders led by three.

The Duncan play hit Beth-Center hard as Baker went down with an injury. While he came back in the game, Baker’s leg was wrapped and he wasn’t as utilized in the offense.

Baker led Beth-Center with 41 rushing yards on seven carries.

“It was big,” Bulldogs coach Tim Trump said. “He’s a big part of our offense. He’s one of the leaders on the team, and we need him to be 100 percent.”

Riverview earned some breathing room when Stotts scored on a 12-yard catch and run from Kmetz. Kmetz finished with 163 passing yards with two touchdowns and four interceptions.

Beth-Center’s offense struggled to move the ball in the second half. The Bulldogs finished with 99 total yards.

“At the end of the second half, we didn’t have enough bodies,” Trump said.

Kratt capped the scoring with a 1-yard run in the fourth quarter. Riverview will be eager to do more scoring and less backtracking against Valley next week.

“I feel like when we saw the opportunity, we took it,” Kratt said. “There were little spaces that we saw, and we took those opportunities.”

Tags: Beth-Center, Riverview