Meyers edges Riverside to stay unbeaten
WILKES-BARRE — Trailing entering the fourth quarter Friday night, Meyers needed someone to make a big play.
It wasn’t going to be standout running back Mark Robinson. He emerged from the locker room at halftime with his left arm in a sling, the result of a tackle that ended the second quarter.
Receiver Raheem Twyman, Robinson’ running mate on the PIAA Class 2A state championship 400 relay team, seemed like a good candidate. And he was.
Twyman turned a short pass into a 72-yard touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter as Meyers went on to edge Riverside 7-6 in a non-conference game at Wilkes-Barre Memorial Stadium.
Meyers improved to 3-0 for the second consecutive year. Riverside fell to 1-2.
“I was just looking for a safe pass maybe to break it,” Meyers coach Jeff Labatch said. “Give it to somebody who might be able to pop it.”
Twyman took a short pass from quarterback Willie Wallace in the left flat on a third-and-16 play. The speedster sifted through traffic, angling across field and scoring down the right sideline. Tyler Schneikart’s extra point gave the Mohawks a 7-6 lead.
Until then, the Mohawks were having trouble replacing Robinson’s elusiveness. He had 91 yards rushing, including a 74-yard run, in the first half. He also had two interceptions.
“We kept our heads up,” Meyers linebacker/running back Jason Marston said. “Mark is a great teammate. He’s a big star in the offense. But we kept our heads up.”
Riverside had the ball two more times, but both drives stalled. The second was hampered when Marston recorded his third sack of the game.
“Jason Marston had probably one of the best games I’ve ever seen by a linebacker,” Labatch said.
Marston’s running, though, was key when Meyers took the ball with 6:15 left in the fourth quarter. Two of his runs led to first downs as the Mohawks were able to run out the clock.
Riverside had 35 yards of offense in the first half, never getting deeper than the Meyers 49-yard line in the first two quarters. The Vikings finally got a break when Kishod Stanton returned a third-quarter punt 55 yards to the Meyers 10.
After losing 10 yards on three plays, Riverside quarterback Ken Kielar launched a pass into the end zone to tight end Matt Fallon. The ball hit off Fallon, but he managed to catch the pass as he landed on his back. Riverside ran a fake on the point-after try, with a pass landing incomplete.
Meyers 7, Riverside 6
Riverside`0`0`6`0`—`6
Meyers`0`0`0`7`—`7
Third quarter
RIV — Matt Fallon 20 pass from Ken Kielar (pass failed), 1:25
Fourth quarter
MEY — Raheem Twyman 72 pass from Willie Wallace (Tyler Schneikart kick), 11:44
Team statistics`Riv`Mey
First downs`5`9
Rushes-yards`20-18`41-154
Passing yards`62`88
Total yards`80`242
Passing`7-21-2`4-10-1
Sacked-yards lost`3-21`3-25
Punts-avg.`6-30`4-28
Fumbles-lost`3-0`2-1
Penalties-yards`9-47`10-88
— Riverside, Mikkell Green 9-24, Paul Coleman 6-26, Cody Glogowski 3-(minus-26), Kielar 1-(minus-5), team 1-(minus-21). Meyers, Wallace 7-(minus-18), Mark Robinson 8-91, Jason Marston 11-49, Namir Murphy 3-1, Bryce Waters 2-17, Raheem Twyman 1-7, Fahbian Biggs 7-17, Josh Schiowitz 1-(minus-9), team 1-(minus-1).
— Riverside, Glogowski 3-10-2-38, Kielar 4-11-0-24. Meyers, Wallace 4-10-1-88.
— Riverside, Kishod Stanton 3-35, Nick Sottile 1-3, Green 1-(minus-2), Fallon 1-20, Jon Tucker 1-6. Meyers, Khabir Williams 1-(minus-5), Robinson 2-21, Twyman 1-72.
— Riverside, Tucker 1-7. Meyers, Robinson 2-13.
MISSED FGs — None.
Reach John Erzar at 570-991-6394 or on Twitter
