Greer lost at Seneca in its season-opening game last Friday. This week’s game is the home opener for the Yellow Jackets. Riverside Head Coach Phil Smith played and was an assistant coach at Greer.
“With under four minutes to go in the game, we were under by two scores. We score offensively pretty fast and we’re down by one score. We kick an onside kick and get it. We score on the very next play, what would be the tying score, but our young quarterback crossed the line of scrimmage, about a yard downfield when he throws the football.
“I guess the moral of the story is, while we did not play as well as we’re capable of playing, we still fought back and gave ourselves a chance to win.
“Defensively, the team struggled a little bit. We’ve got to be a little tougher on that side of the ball. Defense has got to be a little more physical. That’s been the challenge for us. I really believe our kids will step up.
“We had a little bit of the same scenario last year, where we struggled a little bit against Seneca, then turned around and played pretty solid defense the rest of the year. We expect to do the same again this year.
“(Quarterback Mario Cusano) played extremely well for his first game. The biggest crowd that kid has ever played in before was about 50 people on a Saturday morning. And he’s never played before anything like what we have here. I thought he performed quite well. He threw about 280 yards. He didn’t throw any picks, didn’t make any real big mistakes, other than the last one, and that’s something he’ll learn from and get better at. He’s a very level headed kid. He didn’t get too high when we were winning and didn’t get too low when we weren’t.
“We still have to get a little physical up front (offensive line).
“A big bright spot is Jalen Stokes. He’s a senior, been a back up his whole life. Kid’s done good, played very well Friday night.
“Riverside is getting better every week. Phil (Smith) is giving his kids a chance to win.
"Defensively they fly around and bring somebody on every play. They do enough you really have to be prepared."