Trevin Simon scored on the opening drive for Ascension Catholic on a 41 yard TD run, and Riverside answered right back with a Jaden Obiewke 46 yard reception from Christopher Becknel to open an action packed start to the D4 Select finals. From there, both defenses settled into the first quarter until Riverside completed a long pass from Brock Bourgeois to Kenric Johnson and followed it up with a direct snap to Obiewke for his second TD.
The remainder of the second quarter was a back and forth battle, with fumbles stalling drives heading into the break. Less than 300 total yards were gained on offense between both teams, in contrast to a high scoring game in the D4 Non-Select championship earlier today.
Riverside received the ball to open the third quarter and got another TD pass, which Becknel on the receiving end this time of a 37 yard pass from Bourgeois. After getting the ball back quickly from AC, Bourgeois again found Kenric Johnson deep, this time for a 42 yard reception. The Bulldogs got some hard earned yards with their run game, and scored on a one yard plunge from Joshua Barber to make it 28-14 going into the 4th quarter.
A stop for Ascension Catholic got a stop and scored once they got the back to pull within one posession, via a 3 yard TD run by Gregory Fernandez, capping off a strong drive from him to the AC into scoring position. The Rebels marched down and, after taking 4 minutes off the game clock, made it a two possession game after William Rauch stepped in to hit a 40 yard field goal.
Ascension Catholic was not able to catch up from there, and the Rebels were able to kneel down on their final series.
This has been a special team all year long. Early in the season, when we had injuries and other things not go our way, and to have so many guys that were on that 2023 team…man, it just feels special. – Riverside HC Lee Roussel
Read about the thriller from Haynesville and Mangham here: Golden Tor Champs
