In Class 5A, Region 3 football, upstart Riverdale plays at Power Manatee

The Riverdale High School football team will enter new territory when the Raiders travel to Bradenton for the Class 5A, Region 3 final against Manatee on Friday.

The Raiders (10-2) will play in the third round of the state playoffs for the first time after an 18-14 win in Fort Myers last week. The victory was just the third postseason win in the 55-year history of the Riverdale program, with two coming this season.

More:Who is one win away from state? A first look at the regional finals in Southwest Florida

Awaiting the Raiders is a star-studded Hurricanes program that appears to have regained the swagger that befits a five-time state champion. Manatee (9-1) defeated Immokalee 54-8 last week to reach the regional final for the first time since 2019. The Hurricanes have won 15 regional championships in their illustrious history and have a sparkling 68-31 record in the FHSAA state playoffs. a winning percentage of 0.687.

Watch HS football playoff games live on NFHS Network

Manatee, No. 15 in Florida in the latest MaxPreps.com rankings, is undefeated against in-state opponents this season. The only loss came on September 6th to Georgia team Lowndes. The Hurricanes average 41 points and 340 yards of offense per game. 230 through the air. Senior quarterback Andrew Heidel, an Army commit, has rushed for 2,210 yards and 30 touchdowns with just two inceptions. He has a bevy of wide receiver weapons with four players with at least 20 receptions: senior Torey Gilley (34 catches, 563 yards, four touchdowns), senior AJ Causey (29-428-5), senior Farrakhan Shannon (22- 346-5). 5) and junior Jalen Bryant (20-536-10).

Defensively, Manatee is allowing 13.4 points per game behind a pair of standouts on the first seven teams: senior linebacker Caleb Matelau, a Louisville native, and senior defensive linemen Ean Johnson-Kelley and Alvoid Kennon, who combined for 12 sacks and 41 Made tackles for loss.

Former University of Florida and NFL wide receiver Jacquez Green is in his fourth season as head coach of the Hurricanes.

“You have some people who are stars; They’re really, really good,” Riverdale head coach Kendoll Gibson said. “We know we have a lot of work to do, but man, we’re going to go into this with momentum.”

The Raiders have a good chance to knock off Manatee, and they’ll have to show some mileage to do so. Riverdale has arguably the best backfield tandem in Southwest Florida behind senior Cole Hayes and junior Lovensky Blanchard. Hayes, who frequently takes the ball out of the middle, is on pace for the second 2,000-yard rushing season in Riverdale history and leads the team with 29 total touchdowns. Blanchard is a deep threat with more than 1,300 total yards and seven touchdowns, averaging more than 9.5 yards per carry.

A rapidly improving Raiders secondary, led by senior Jamar Underwood and sophomore Latroy Pender, who had key interceptions in the win over Fort Myers, will have to prevent Manatee from making big turnovers in the passing game. Meanwhile, the front seven, led by lineman Jeremiah Bataille, Kalen McIntyre and linebackers Kymani Gordon and Orville Jackson, must control the Hurricanes’ running game and pressure Heidel.

Riverdale will try to use the same formula that has worked so well this season: shorten the game and wear Manatee down with its running game to be the fresher team in the second half. The longer the Raiders can stay within one score of the Hurricanes, the better their plan has a chance of success.

While Manatee is the prohibitive favorite to reach the Final Four, Riverdale has already done something no other Lee County team has ever done. Their eight-game improvement, from 2-8 in 2023 to 10-2 this season, is the largest year-over-year win improvement by a team in Lee County football history.

The Raiders would love nothing more than to increase that mark to nine and secure their first state semifinal appearance.

The News-Press/Naples Daily News picks: Manatee 35, Riverdale 16

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