Summerville Trounces River Islands Riptide

Written by: Mike Woicicki

The Summerville Bears hosted the River Islands Riptide in their fourth league game last night. With the Riptide coming into the game with a 1 and 5 record and the Bears commanding a 5 and 1 season so far, all the experts predicted a blowout victory. These predictions were right on the money as the Bears were up 44 to 0 by the end of the first quarter and cruised to a 58 to 0 as they played with a running clock that started in the middle of the second quarter.

One would think that in such a lopsided game the Bears would have overwhelming offensive stats, but almost the entire game was played on the Riptide end of the field, and it was the defense and special teams that stood out. The scoring began with a safety just 12 seconds into the game when a Riptide runner was tackled in his own endzone. Then, after a forty-yard kick return by Orlando Lopez, Colton Cash ran one in from 3 yards out, and the Bears led 9 to 0 with just 90 seconds gone in the first frame. The rest of the first half continued in the same manner, with Cash scoring on a 9-yard run, Lopez with a 9-yard run, and Isaac Biggs with runs of 7 and 4 yards. All of these short runs came after the Bear’s strong defense held the Riptide to almost no yards, long Bear kick returns, and two pass interceptions by Lopez. Bryce Rathmel also scored by taking the ball out of the hands of a Riptide runner and dashing in from 33 yards out.

With the running clock, the second half virtually flew by, but not without two more Bear highlights. In the third quarter, Evan Roberson sprinted 45 yards for a TD, and in the fourth, Malakai Fromm dashed 41 for the final Bear touchdown of the night. As in all previous games, kicker Bryson Benitas added 8 extra points as he was perfect on the night.

Orlando Lopez earned Player of the Game by intercepting three passes, having 94 kick-return yards, and rushing for fifty yards with a touchdown. He also had the Hot Hit of the Game when he knocked the ball out of the hands of a receiver late in the game.

The Bears are now 6 and 1 on the season and 3 and 1 in the MLL. They will host the always-powerful Hilmar Yellowjackets next Friday in a non-league game.