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Riverside hangs on to defeat Old Forge

 
Tagged under: District 2, Gameday Hub, News, pfn

| September 25, 2026

Riverside came into their rivalry game at Old Forge with some star power on their side.  QB/DB Brayden Rose, who at last count has somewhere in the vicinity of 18 Division 1 college offers on the table, is the catalyst for the Vikings on offense, defense and special teams.

It turns out that Riverside needed every bit of that to overcome Old Forge.  The Blue Devils came out in the 2nd half and looked like a different, more focused team and gave Riverside everything they could handle as the Vikings held on to defeat Old Forge 35-28.  WR Carmelo Barnett had 2 rushing TD’s, RB Charlie Anstett had 1 rushing TD and QB/DB Brayden Rose had a rushing TD and an interception.  Old Forge got 3 passing TD’s in the 2nd half from QB Parker Harte, with all 3 going to WR Ayden Aversa.

Riverside received the opening kickoff and wasted no time as they drove the field quickly, and WR Carmelo Barnett scored on a 12-yard run to make it 7-0 Riverside with 10:33 left in the 1st quarter.

Riverside’s defense played well and stopped Old Forge to regain possession.  They drove the field again and this time it was RB Charlie Anstett hitting paydirt on an 8-yard run to make it 14-0 Riverside with 4:50 left in the 1st quarter.

The Viking defense again played strong, regaining possession and as the 2nd quarter began it was Barnett with another TD, this time a 14-yard run to put Riverside up 21-0 with 11:52 left in the 2nd quarter.  Old Forge then started to have some success running the ball, with RB Rylan Gutowski making some headway.  The Vikings eventually made the stop though, and again they drove the field on the Blue Devils and the drive was capped when QB Brayden Rose scored on a 1-yard keeper to make it 28-0 with 2:58 left in the half.

Old Forge started to have some life however, and their last drive before halftime gave us a preview of the 2nd half.  The Blue Devils drove into Viking territory using a mix of runs and passes but time expired before they could capitalize.  They then took the 2nd half kickoff, and drove the field, and then Gutowski took the handoff and had a nice weaving TD run that was a dive to the pylon.  With the score, Old Forge cut into the Riverside lead at 28-7 with 9:38 left in the 3rd quarter.

Riverside was not done however.  They were able to execute another scoring drive in the 3rd quarter when Rose hit on a 5-yard run and it was 35-7 Riverside with 2:59 left in the 3rd quarter.

Then the whole momentum of the game changed.

Old Forge played inspired defense and executed on offense.  Entering the 4th quarter, the Blue Devils were driving in Riverside territory when QB Parker Harte hit WR Ayden Aversa for a 19-yard TD to make it 35-14 Riverside with 9:30 left in the 4th quarter.

The Blue Devil defense rose to the occasion and stopped the Vikings in their own territory to force a punt.  Their offense responded with another strong drive that was capped when Harte hit Aversa again on a 4-yard TD strike to make it 35-21 Riverside with 4:24 left in the game.

The Old Forge defense stepped up again and made the stops necessary to force another punt.  The offense executed yet again, with Harte connecting with Aversa again on what was probably the play of the game, a highlight reel 35-yard TD catch to make it 35-28 Riverside with only 1:32 left in the game.

Old Forge, with no timeouts remaining, attempted an onside kick but Riverside recovered  the ball and kneeled it out to escape with a 35-28 victory.  Riverside improved to 5-0 and will head home to face the Lakeland Chiefs.  Old Forge dropped to 1-4 and will look to get back on track next week at Lackawanna Trail.

Check out the photos from the game, courtesy of Sherryl Samuel and SAS Imagery & Media LLC:  PHOTO GALLERY

 

 
 
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