The Hillbillies fell to 1-3 on the season and will host 2A Mingo Central this Friday night.
“We had seven new starters in the lineup and they really stepped up to the challenge,” Man coach Harvey Arms said. “The kids played great. It was our most physical game of the season as we were gang-tackling but we just came up a little bit short.”
Man played without starting quarterback Shane Browning under center. Cayce Mullins ended up getting the nod.
“We had a new quarterback with Cayce Mullins and he played outstanding,” Arms said. “He didn’t know he was playing until game time due to starter Browning was sick, but played limited time on defense for.”
Also, Gage Harvey played tight end. Joey Buchannon started at guard, Dakota Toth at center, Noah Maynard at defensive end, Brandon Gibson at defense tackle and Browning on defense for first time.
“They all did a great job for us,” Arms said.
The Billies finished the game with 179 yards rushing on 46 carries while River View had 221 yards on the ground on 41 tries. Man was also outpassed by the Raiders 152-145. River View ended up outgaining Man 373-324 in total offense.
Man senior Kyle Johnson just missed a 100-yard game with 95 yards on 19 carries. Jimmy Duba rolled up 57 yards on 16 carries and two touchdowns.
Justin Cantrell led Man in receiving with 81 yards on three catches and one touchdown while Tommy Belcher had 33 yards on five catches, including three big first downs to keep drives alive.
Duba led the Man defense with 11 tackles with four solos and one interception, while Brandon Gibson had 10 tackles and four solo stops.
Man was able to outscore the Raiders 8-0 in the second half but came up just short.
The Billies trailed 26-24 before River View started running the ball and eating up the clock.
But it was Man’s defense which was able to force the Raiders into a punting situation with just 1:54 left in the game.
River View, though, pinned Man deep at its own 10-yard line.
The Billies, however, would have one last chance.
Mullins hooked up with Johnson on a big pass to the 42-yard line to get things going with 1:22 left in the game.
Then on fourth-and-two Mullins found Belcher for another first down at the River View 48-yard line with just 39 ticks remaining. Man stopped the clock with its final timeout.
But on the very next play, River View’s Austin Walker intercepted Mullins to seal the game for the Raiders which then ran out the clock to preserve the shaky win over the Billies.
Man opened the game by taking the opening kickoff and driving from its own 35 to the River View 6 before a costly offsides penalty pushed the ball back to the 11-yard line.
Then on fourth-and-six the Raiders held off Man and took over the pigskin on their own 7-yard stripe.
Just eight plays later, Riverview scored on a 14-yard run to pay dirt by John Bailey. The kick failed as the Raiders took a 6-0 lead with 2:36 on the opening period clock.
Man then fumbled on its next possession giving RVHS the ball on the 34-yard line and then on the first play the Raiders cashed it in for a 34-yard jaunt by Trey Bailey with 1:07 left on the first period clock. The PAT kick failed as River View took a 12-0 advantage.
Man got its first points of the contest at the 8:39 mark of the second quarter, marching 66 yards on six plays capped off by a 1-yard TD run by Duba. Mullins ran in the two-point conversion to cut the margin to 12-8.
River View bounced back with a drive of its own, scoring on a 51 yard catch by Leshon Benton from quarterback Jacob Muncy. Benton then caught the conversion pass to give the Raiders a 20-8 lead with 5:32 to go until halftime.
The Billies answered once again on the next series, driving 60 yards on just two plays as Mullins hooked up with Cantrell on a 55-yard pass-and-catch with 2:54 left. Johnson ran in the two-point conversion to make it 20-16.
The Raiders then went 84 yards on seven plays capped off by a 1-yard touchdown run by Bailey with just 32 ticks to go until the intermission. The two-point conversion failed as the Raiders led 26-16 at the break.
Man then got the momentum back on its side by cutting River View’s lead to just 26-24 with 2:22 left in the third quarter on Duba’s 3-yard touchdown and a two-point conversion run by Mullins.
The score ended up being the final score of the game.
The Billies played the game without starting junior lineman Shane Almodovar, who has reportedly left the team and moved with his family to Pennsylvania.
Man is set to host Mingo Central this week for the very first time. MCHS, a new consolidated school made up of the former Gilbert, Matewan, Burch and Williamson high schools, enters the game at 1-2 and will also be hungry for a win.
The Miners lost at Westside on Friday night.
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