LUTZ-The Steinbrenner Warriors (4-0) continue their record-breaking start as they defeat the Riverview Rams (0-4) by a score of 38-17 to win their first district game of the season.
“We have a lot of work to do,” said head coach Andres Perez-Rienaldo. “Although we had a slow start, coach Ross told our boys to stay in the fight, there are back and forth games like that and you have to stay true to what you do and if you do we will be there in the end.”
Both teams started the game of the game sluggish leading to three straight punts to start off the game. The only notable play was late in the first quarter when Junior cornerback Josh Edwards forced a fumble, giving the Warriors the ball. Once the second quarter started however, Steinbrenner began to run the ball efficiently Also a stong performance came from senior running back Jayquese Dantley who rushed for 192 yards on 25 carries and two touchdowns. Also the wildcat was ran in the redzone on many occasions led by senior wide receiver Justin Moffatt, who accounted for three touchdowns (two rushing and one receiving) on 70 all purpose yards. Steinbrenner used the wildcat to end the second quarter where they held a lead of 10-7.
When the second half began, Steinbrenner refused to pass the ball as they only moved the ball through the air three times in the entire second half. Many of the yards that came from Dantley and Moffatt came in the second half including two touchdown runs of 35 and 14 yards by Dantley. Sophomore quarterback Colin Wray also contributed by throwing two deep passes to senior wide receiver Brett Bitter, setting up two touchdown drives for the Warriors in seven plays giving them a 31-14 lead early in the fourth quarter.
“Seeing all of those fans out their really made us want to put on a show for them,” said Moffatt. “We knew they wanted us to win and we didn’t want to disappoint them so we went into the second half as a very focused team on winning this game.”
The Warrior defense also had great success against the Ram offense throughout the game. The Rams running game was no match for the front seven of the Warriors led by senior middle linebacker Tyler Mirabella who accounted for three tackles for loss and five tackles in total. The Warrior defense also able to overpower the inexperienced offensive line of Riverview from the help of senior defensive end Andre Washington and senior middle linebacker Patrick Lukert, who accounted for six combined tackles in the game. Washington was also used on offense when they ran the jumbo wildcat set with Moffatt in the redzone.
“We told ourselves at the half that we can not lose this game,” said Moffatt. “We knew that winning this first district game will help us in the coming games and as of right now, every game is a must win because of it being a district game.”
The Warriors look to continue their success into the coming weeks as they travel to face the Riverview Sharks (2-2) then come home to face the highly anticipated Manatee Hurricanes (2-2) on October 2nd.
