River Valley football season ends with win at home

The River Valley High School boys varsity football team played their final game of the season this past Thursday night against the Richland Center Hornets, coming away with the victory with a final score of 50-7.River Valley faced Adams Friendship November 13 and won, moving them to the final level of playoffs. This year the playoffs were different due to COVER-19. The WIAA division three teams were split into eight groups and faced a two level playoff to end up with eight champion teams in the division.  The Blackhawks started strong with three touchdowns in the first quarter. The first was a 61 yard pass from quarterback Will Bailey to Landen Alt, with a two point conversion for eight points. Zach Gloudeman had an eight yard run for another touchdown. Roman Jensen had a 72 yard run for the third touchdown of the first quarter with Tyler Nachreiner bringing in the two point conversion. The second quarter had three more unanswered touchdowns from the Hawks. Alt had a six yard run, Gloudeman had a six yard run with a two point conversion from Bailey, and Alt had a 25 yard pass from Bailey for the three touchdowns in the second quarter. This took the score to 42-0 at the end of the first half.  The second half of the game saw fewer scoring plays. Nachreiner caught a 15 yard pass from Bailey and Jensen ran in a two point conversion in the third quarter. The fourth quarter saw the Hornets bringing in a 70 yard run for a touchdown with a kick for an extra point taking the game to the final score of 50-7 for the win.  “We were able to get in a rhythm with the passing game and RC played with no safety over the top, so we were able to take advantage of some things since we were as close to a full roster as we have been all year long,” said River Valley coach Tim Eastlick of the definitive win.  Highlights from the game include: Bailey completed 10 of 14 passing attempts for 244 yards. Jensen led the rushing game with six attempts for 93 yards, followed by Bailey with five attempts for 39 yards, and Gloudeman with eight attempts for 30 yards. Alt led the receiving for the Hawks with four receptions for 142 yards with Nachreiner bringing in six receptions for 102 yards. Landon Clary brought in six tackles, Gloudeman had five, Nachreiner had four and Jesse Day and Gaige Dilley each had three tackles in the evening.  Eastlick spoke of the obstacles facing the Blackhawks this season, “Every year our team has goals and coming into the season there were so many uncertainties, so goal one was to play as close to a full season as we could. The boys got to play six out of seven games. Goal two get into the playoffs, whatever that might look like and win as many of the games as we were allowed to play. Winning two to end the season was special. All of the other obstacles and distractions the boys handled very well and I couldn’t be prouder of them.” Eastlick concluded speaking of the seniors who played their last game of their high school careers saying, “This group of seniors had very high expectations themselves, from fans and the coaching staff. With all that they went through from March until the end of the season it will only make them stronger and more determined to succeed when life throws you curveballs. The young men in this senior class have been a part of some very good football over the past three varsity seasons.”