Late Field Goal Lifts Riverside Over Union

Tagged under: District 7, Game Photos-Videos, Gameday Hub, News, pfn

Shane Lux | September 12, 2025

New Castle – Gage Safran’s 38-yard field goal with 5:33 to play proved the difference in Riverside’s 9-7 victory over Union Thursday night at Socs Roussos Stadium.

An emotional evening on the 24th anniversary of the September 11th attacks, Riverside gutted out a hard-fought victory to improve to 2-2 on the season.

The Panthers held a 364 to 147 advantage in total offense, but it wasn’t until a drive that began with nine minutes exact on the clock that they were able to take the lead back for good.

“It was good to get the win tonight,” said Riverside head coach Robert Magnifico. “We should’ve had more points on the board, but we have to quit doing stupid things that hurt ourselves, and we’ll work on that this week.”

Mason Holler intercepted Scotties’ quarterback Jordyn Kelley at their 31-yard line.

Riverside then proceeded to move the football 48 yards in ten plays, where place kicker Gage Safran capped the drive by drilling a 38-yard field goal.

“I knew our kicker,  he has a range of about 37 to 40 yards,” Magnifico said. “I told him if we get in close and we get in a tight game, it means we can win a game. I’m letting him kick it, and I have faith in him to make the kick.”

Their defense came up with a 4th down stop with just over three minutes to play, followed by their offense running out the clock to secure the victory.

The Panthers had moved the ball into Union territory on three of their first four second-half possessions. The first two ended on downs inside the Scotties’ 40-yard line.

A big part of Riverside’s offensive success between the 20-yard lines was wide receiver Hunter Garcia, who caught a game-high ten balls for 135 yards.

“Yeah, well, I’m trying. I did, seven on sevens this summer, and I improved from last year,” Garcia said. “This game, Aidan Gaydosz and I connected well and played pretty well. It was really bright, and it was hard to see the ball.”

He added receptions of 21, 4, and 11 yards on the eventual game-winning drive.

Garcia also recovered a fumble in the red zone to thwart Union’s initial possession.

“You know, we’ve gotta, you know, bring the juice,” said Garcia. “When we say, we played every single minute, you know, every single minute we played as a team.”

Riverside opened the scoring after recovering a fumble on the opening kickoff. Mason Holler caught a screen pass from Aidan Gaydosz and took it 25 yards for a touchdown with only 1:28 off the clock.

Gaydosz completed 15 of 32 passes for 202 yards while rushing for a team-high 65 yards on five carries.

The Scotties answered when Gianni Million scored on a 1-yard run with 2:47 to play in the opening stanza.

“We were giving up an average of over  40+ points in our first three games,” concluded Magnifico. “We concentrated hard on defense this week. We’re not going through any more 40-point games. What we did this week could be a good practice for our defense and changing things up; hard work got us to where we are tonight.”

Million led Union with 92 yards rushing on 17 carries. The Scotties fall to 0-3 on the season and will go for their first win next week when they travel to Western Beaver next Friday night.

Riverside improves to 2-2 and will look to keep the momentum going when they host New Brighton next Friday.

Game Highlights

Riverside 9 Union 7

Score by Quarters

Riverside – 6 0 0 3 – 9

Union – 7 0 0 0 – 7

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

R – Mason Holler 25 yd pass from Aidan Gaydosz, (kick failed), 10:32 – 3-30

U – Gianni Million 1 yd run, (A.J. Kulkin pat), 2:47 – 7-43

Fourth Quarter

R – Gage Safran 38 yd field goal, 5:33 – 10-48

Individual Stats

Rushing: R – Alex Lucarelli 8-35, Holler 20-62, Gaydosz 5-65, Team 2-0. Totals: 35-162. U – Million 17-92, Armontae Booker 2-15, Jordyn Kelley 6-(-6), Team 1-0. Totals: 26-101.

Receiving: R – Hunter Garcia 10-135, Holler 2-52, Lucarelli 1-(-4), Evan Skinner 1-15. U – Zion Waters 5-35, Booker 1-11.

Passing: R – Gaydosz 15-for-32, 202 yards, 1 TD. U – Kelley 5-for-10, 46 yards, 1 INT.

Interceptions: R – Holler.

Follow PA Football News on Twitter @PaFootballNews