Top-seeded Carey powers past Falcons

CAREY – Carey routed Riverdale 49-6 in Division VI football playoff action, thanks to another strong game from quarterback Lance Rickle. Rickle finished the game with 83 yards through the air, completing four of his seven attempts, and 98 rushing yards on five carries, including two rushing touchdowns. Rickle spoke about the Blue Devils' game plan from here on out. "I'm feeling good, I'm ready for next week," he said. "It feels so nice having that crowd right behind 'ya." Speaking of big plays, perhaps the biggest of the night was Rickle's 70-yd touchdown throw to Austin Niederkohr, who had a big game of his own. Niederkohr ended the night with 25 rushing yards, two rushing touchdowns and just one reception, the aforementioned connection with Rickle that scored Carey its final touchdown of the game. Rickle spoke on that big-time play that put the game away for the Blue Devils. "I felt a little bit of pressure from the right side, so I rolled out to the left and looked downfield," he continued. "I saw he was open and wanted the ball so I just threw it up to him. It's nice to make big plays like that." Blue Devils coach Jonathon Mershman talked about what's next for the team after such a dominant first-round victory. "Right now, it's either win or go home. There's really no other option," Mershman said. "Going forward, it's playoff time. We gotta get fired up and ready to go, we're gonna be right here again next week. This crowd's gonna be electric, a packed house. It's gonna be a lot of fun next Friday." Freshman running back Eli Steen, affectionately referred to as "The Steen-Roller" thanks to his power and toughness, has been a huge part of Carey's offense this season, and once again came up big here tonight. Steen finished with 73 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns for the Blue Devils, securing several key first downs for his team. After having some early success on their first drive of the game, the Falcons' offense struggled to get anything going against a mighty Blue Devils defense. Quarterback Heath Dunbar completed 10 of his 22 pass attempts for 49 yards, throwing one interception. Running back Loukas Carter, normally a prolific rusher for the Falcons, finished with just 29 yards, a testament to Carey's defensive chops. Carter did, however, score the Falcons' lone touchdown, an 11-yd run early in the fourth quarter. Additionally, Davin Harbor caught six passes for the Falcons, ending with 50 yards receiving. Riverdale head coach Sam Petrie spoke on the Falcons' loss, and the game his team played Friday. "They're (Carey) a really well-coached team. We had a few mental lapses, and from there it got out of hand a little bit," he added. "I wasn't satisfied with what we did in the first half. Heath (Dunbar) is still a backup, he's never been in an atmosphere like this. He was able to come out and stay composed even though some things didn't go right, and he deserves credit." Petrie also spoke on the future for this Falcons program, which reached the postseason for just the second time. "We bring back ten guys next year on the offensive side," he continued. "We did some really good things this year, and I'm hoping we can continue building on that next year." Carey moves on to play rival Colonel Crawford next week. In their regular season contest, Carey defeated the Eagles 7-3 in a hard-fought, back-and-forth contest. Next week's game, now in a playoff atmosphere, looks to be no different, as the N10 Titans look to square off once again.