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Rider-Stephenville recollections

This will be the sixth time I've covered Rider versus Stephenville in this decade. The most memorable one was the first one as Rider beat a highly-ranked and favored Stephenville team led by Jevan Sneed.
Rider fell behind 14-0 and then came back to win 63-42.

The 17-13 Rider victory only had an exciting ending. To this day Coach Ponder and I disagree on that one. I thought Rider had the better team and should have played more straight up and open. I think it was a last-second 17-13 win instead of a 31-20 win because of Rider's strategy. But the win is all that mattered so Ponder came out smelling like a rose. The armchair quarterbacks like me are safely away from the field of play.

The second half of last year's 32-29 victory I think took a toll on the Raiders down the road. Rider led the game 23-0. Stephenville didn't quit. That's to their credit. Rider wasn't sharp. That was to their detriment.
I think if Rider had stepped on Stephenville and let everyone see a film where they beat the Jackets 37-7 or 33-13 or something then the benefits would have multiplied.
The Raiders would have gained a swagger that they could put a good team away. Others would fear falling behind and know that the end of the playoff life was near when they watched Rider film.
Instead, Everman just battled and battled even when being controlled for much of three quarters, never veering from game plan and eventually the Bulldogs won Region I in the fourth quarter.
It's just a theory of course.

The previous games are fun to talk about, but won't really have any effect on the 2008 meeting tonight.
More than any of the other playoff meetings, Rider is expected to win this one. That could be dangerous. Tradition doesn't put points on the scoreboard, but it can inspire. And Stephenville obviously played some inspired football last week.
The same kind of fire Rider played with in the weeks following their injuries.
That makes a team dangerous.

Posted by Andy Newberry at 11:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)