Jordan Nortz grabs three interceptions, Riverside stays undefeated with win over rival Freeman

It was billed as a matchup of unbeatens in the Northeast A League with contrasting styles.

Riverside, ranked No. 5 in 1A by the state media and No. 2 by the WIAA Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), entered 4-0 behind a high-flying offense and potential all-state quarterback Silas Ng. Freeman, unranked but No. 3 in the RPI, came in 3-0 with consecutive shutouts of league rivals and had allowed one touchdown all season.

But it was a Riverside defender who grabbed the headlines, and Ng and his running mates did the rest.

Jordan Nortz had three interceptions and a touchdown catch, Jake Gaffaney scored on a pair of 1-yard runs and kicked a field goal and the visiting Rams edged closer to a league title by topping the Scotties 24-14 on an idyllic fall Friday night.

Ng completed 10 of 17 passes for 118 yards and a TD and carried 14 times for 99 yards.

“I think that we played pretty well tonight,” Riverside coach Buddy Wood said. “But I also think we made a lot of mistakes and have a lot of room for improvement.”

“This one was huge,” Ng said. “I mean, this was the one we needed to take out for the league championship and we want to go for the same title we had last year.”

Wood figured Freeman would key on Ng, so the Rams spread the ball out to as many skill players as they could.

“We have a lot of different guys running the ball,” Wood said. “Its definitely not a one-man show. I think that’s what makes this team special – they’re willing to sacrifice personal glory or stats or whatever it is as long as we get a ‘W.’ ”

“We went over film, we watched them, prepared for them,” Ng said. “We were ready before we came in here and we did what we needed to do.”

Nortz has seven interceptions for the season, two off the team record.

“I just, when I see the ball I go make a play,” Nortz said. “It feels great to get this win and keep Freeman to the points we did tonight.”

Riverside got out quickly.

A sideline route to Gaffaney went for 14 yards, then a screen to Tyler Lenz gained 27 yards to the Freeman 5. Lenz took it to the 1, then Gaffaney plowed in from there.

“Whenever I get the chance, I just run it up in there,” Gaffaney said. “People look at me and think I’m small, but I can definitely run with the best of them between the tackles.”

Early in the second quarter, Ng pinned Freeman on its 4 with a coffin-corner 33-yard punt. Freeman QB Boen Phelps carried for 22 yards to get some field to work with, then the Scotties reeled off three first downs on consecutive plays to move to the Riverside 9.

Consecutive incompletions, the second on fourth down, resulted in a turnover on downs.

After the teams traded punts, Nortz picked off Phelps at midfield and took it to the Freeman 14. Two plays later, Gaffaney got in from the 1 for his second score of the game.

“He’s the fastest kid on out team,” Wood said. “He ran really hard tonight and showed some physical toughness between the tackles.”

Late in the second quarter, Nortz came up with his second interception, but the Rams couldn’t move the ball. With less than 1 minute in the half, Riverside was forced to punt. Ng’s punt to the Freeman 15 was muffed and recovered by the Rams’ Coldin Ackerman.

With 7 seconds to go, Gaffaney hit on a 21-yard field goal and Riverside led 17-0 at halftime.

On Freeman’s first possession in the second half, a shotgun snap went over Phelps’ head and was recovered by the Rams’ Hunter DePriest at the Freeman 22. Ng carried 10 yards to the 12, then found Nortz in the corner of the end zone for a 12-yard TD completion and 24-0 lead.

“He’s a pretty smart kid.” Wood said of Ng. “He has that great vision and knows when to give, when to keep, knows when to pull and when to make the throw over the top.”

Freeman responded with a 12-play, 67-yard drive culminated by an 8-yard swing pass from Phelps to Reed Hicks to make it 24-7.

The Scotties forced a three-and-out and Phelps hit Luke Whitaker for 35 yards to the Riverside 12. Two plays later, Phelps barreled in to trim the deficit to 24-14.

The Freeman defense held against the Rams and got the ball back, but Nortz’s third pick of the game came with 2 minutes, 18 seconds to go to seal it.