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Football: Steinbrenner 22, Riverview 12

 
Published Sept. 29, 2017

TAMPA — Steinbrenner scored 22 unanswered points, and freshman Deon Silas came off the bench to rush for 125 of his game-high 136 yards and a pair of touchdowns after intermission as the Warriors (2-2, 1-1) rallied to defeat Riverview (1-3, 0-2) in a Class 8A, District 6 game.

Trailing 6-0 at halftime, Steinbrenner tied the score on a 26-yard pass from backup quarterback Tony Bartalo to Aidan Bitter on fourth down with one minute left in the third quarter. That was the start of a 22-0 run by the Warriors, whose defense forced three turnovers.

Key play: With the score tied at 6 early in the fourth quarter, Bartalo recovered a fumble at the Sharks' 5 when the Riverview punter bobbled a low center snap. Four plays later, Trevor Haire kicked a 23-yard field goal to put Steinbrenner in front for good.

Stars of the game: Silas, who replaced starter Dionte Waldron (injured left ankle midway through the first quarter), carried the ball 19 times and had a big second half after being held to 11 yards on five first-half carries. He followed Haire's field goal with scoring runs of 18 and 16 yards on back-to-back possessions, and had an apparent 52-yard scoring run nullified by a holding penalty. … Demietre Chaney (interception) and Charles Stephens (fumble recovery) contributed turnovers for Steinbrenner. … Riverview quarterback Reagan Jorgensen was responsible for his team's touchdowns on a 10-yard run and a 23-yard pass to Eric Brown. Jorgensen completed 21-of-30 for 229 yards and one interception. … Brown caught nine balls for 134 yards.

Stats of the game: Riverview held a 283-225 advantage in total offensive yards, including a 175-37 edge in the first two quarters. … The Sharks also committed all six of their penalties totaling 45 yards in the second half.

Final word: "Our defense all season has been tough as nails. We pride ourselves on defense first. Then all of a sudden (Thursday), we find ourselves in a situation where our offense was able to come through." — Steinbrenner coach Andres Perez-Reinaldo