By Reagan Hoverman

In a game where River Falls converted seven of eight third down attempts and punt – ed the ball only one time, the Wildcats still had to block a New Richmond extra point just to get the Friday night thriller into overtime.

New Richmond pushed River Falls to the brink in that Big Rivers Conference opener on Friday, Sept. 2, at David Smith Stadium in River Falls. Throughout the offseason, New Richmond became a trendy pick by prognosticators to win the conference this year. The Tigers’ depth, speed, and experience at the skill positions make them one of the most dangerous teams in the state, as River Falls learned on Friday night in the 25-19 victory to improve to 3-0.

New Richmond had first and goal from the River Falls five-yard line with less than 90 seconds remaining in regulation. That’s when senior running back Andrew Trandahl took a direct snap out of the wildcat formation and followed blockers into the endzone to tie the game 19-19 with a critical extra point looming.

On that ensuing PAT, the River Falls defensive line got a great push, dove and blocked the extra point. Although the Wildcats didn’t have enough time to go down the field and score in those last 60 seconds of regulation, the blocked extra point gave River Falls second life and sent the game to overtime.

New Richmond got the first possession of OT starting at the River Falls 25-yard line. After three marginal gains, the Tigers faced a critical fourth and one. That’s when the River Falls defensive line got a great push forward and stuffed a running back dive play to end New Richmond’s possession.

On the second play of River Falls’ OT pos – session, the Wildcats ran a reverse to wide receiver Wyatt Bell who bounced the run to the outside and found pay-dirt in the endzone. Bell’s walk-o touchdown gave the Wildcats a 25-19 victory over the Tigers.

River Falls head coach Ryan Scherz spoke about the offensive excellence that the Wild – cats demonstrated on Friday night, which included spreading the wealth with several weapons on that offense and having success against a stout New Richmond defensive front.

“The offense did some good things and we were 7/8 on third down and punted only once,” Scherz said. “We moved the ball consistently against a defense designed to stop the run. And we threw the ball well when we wanted to, as well as when we needed to. I was also happy with how the ball is getting spread around. Three guys had carries, and five guys caught passes. We believe that makes us tougher to defend. We’re not a one-man show.” While the offensive certainly had overall success against New Richmond, there were a couple of stumbles along the way which the Tigers promptly took advantage of. On the first play from scrimmage, River Falls fumbled the ball on a routine running back dive. New Richmond marched down the field and scored on the ensuing possession.

With five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and a six-point lead, River Falls had possession and a prime opportunity to put the game away. The Wildcats proceeded to fumble, New Richmond recovered and was immediately back in the game. Scherz spoke about his level of concern with the turnovers.

“We are always concerned with turn – overs,” Scherz said. “With experience, our staff is confident those issues will resolve themselves. Some of our skill players are only in their third varsity games. I have all the confidence in the world in those guys. They are really good players.” New Richmond finished the game with 19 total points, most of which came after the River Falls offense turned the ball over. Giving a talented offense scoring opportunities on a short field typically leads to points. Scherz spoke about turnovers influencing the game for River Falls defensively.

“We gave up 13 points by giving them short fields on turnovers,” Scherz said. “When they had to drive the field, we were able to keep them out of the end zone. The defense played very well.” Although New Richmond has an unquestionably good defense, the Tigers have built their brand on offense. New Richmond is known for its college-like spread offense that capitalizes on speed and experience at the most important skill positions including wide receiver, running back and quarterback.

New Richmond often runs the ball on early downs to get in front of the sticks and open up the playbook on later downs. On Friday, the River Falls defensive line won those battles at the line of scrimmage and put the Tigers in second- and third-and-long situations which limited explosive plays. Scherz spoke about the game defensively and how his staff shut down one of the best offenses on this side of the state.

“We have really good players at all 3 lev – els of the defense, and our defensive staff is second to none,” Scherz said. “We felt like their running back would get a few 10-12yard runs, but we also felt like we would get a lot of zero or one-yard yard stops. We were also able to prevent him from breaking a very long touchdown, which is something New Richmond had done in each game.” The 25-19 victory improved River Falls’ overall record to 3-0 for the season and 1-0 in Big Rivers Conference play. The Wildcats have played three tough opponents this sea – son, but none compare to next week’s rival – the Hudson Raiders.

Hudson has built a name as one of the best Division 1 programs in the state and is currently ranked as the 10th best team in Wisconsin, according to the Wissports.com weekly coaches poll. Last week Hudson was unranked but cracked the top-10 this week after starting the year 3-0.

That rivalry game will be played in Hud – son on Friday, Sept. 9, and is slated to begin at 7 p.m.

River Falls junior quarterback Jacob Range huddles the offense and provides the play call to his offense during a game against Holmen earlier this year. Range played the entire game against New Richmond and helped lead the Wildcats to a 25-19 OT victory. Photo by Reagan Hoverman