The Reed Raiders (2-0) hosted the Twelve Bridges Raging Rinos (1-0) of California during week three of the NIAA football season, with the Raging Rinos coming out on top 39-36 after a last second field goal from kicker Will Gant.
“That’s a real deal football team,” Twelve Bridges head coach Chris Bean said after the game. “We know what it means to come up to Sparks, Nev. and to take on Reed. Reed is very well known, even in Northern California. So, a lot of respect for what these guys do here.”
Twelve Bridges got the game started early, scoring a touchdown on their second possession of the game off a goal-line rushing touchdown. After Reed muffed the kickoff return, the Raging Rinos got another possession, scoring a passing touchdown from quarterback Connor Flaherty to wide receiver Braeden Ward and converting a two-point conversion.
Reed began to claw back after Twelve Bridges’ second touchdown. Once the Raiders got to midfield in their next possession, running back Bronwyn Rios broke several tackles on his way to a 45-yard rushing touchdown. On their next possession Rios got Reed to the Twelve Bridges’ red zone, where quarterback Nishaan Bajwa found wide receiver Jayden Burdum for a 20-yard passing touchdown. Bajwa converted the two-point conversion after the second touchdown, evening the game at 15 apiece midway through the second quarter.
“We knew they weren’t going anywhere, they’re such a talented team,” Bean said. “That offense is for real, you get behind those big freaking linemen. I mean, look at us, we’re a little undersized. So, you got to play with a little bit of heart, got to pay attention to detail and they got to listen to their coaches. We’re still not where we need to be on that end, but we’re getting there.”
However, the Raging Rinos rekindled their early fire, scoring two more touchdowns off quarterback sneaks and running back screens. Twelve Bridges did miss one PAT, leaving the game at 28-15 going into halftime.
Reed started the second half hot, getting an interception on the Raging Rinos’ first play of the second half and starting their first possession of the quarter at midfield. Then, Rios got back to work, scoring another 45-yard rushing touchdown to put the Raiders within five points.
“(Rios) is a tough player,” wide receiver Isaiah Rodriguez said. “We knew that, even when they were in fourth down or they’re losing the game at some point, that he was going to get the ball, and he could win them the game.”
Rios was not done though, as after the Raging Rinos had to punt due to an intentional grounding penalty stopping them outside the red zone three possessions later, the junior broke free for an 82-yard rushing touchdown, completing the hat trick to put Reed up for the first time 29-28.
“I’m hoping that (Rios) is the best kid we see all year,” Bean said. “He is so freaking legit, in every phase of the football game. He brought them back. They were down, and here he comes. We were just trying to hold on at that point in time, just because he’s so freaking talented.”
Despite Reed’s advances, Twelve Bridges was able to gain the momentum back once again. After a set of punts that took the game into the fourth quarter, the Raging Rinos started to push the ball up the field again, this time taking a slower paced approach. That was until Ward broke out for another rushing touchdown, this time for 35 yards. With a second successful two-point conversion right afterwards, Twelve Bridges led 36-29 midway through the fourth.
The tug of war continued, as Bajwa found wide receiver Shaysan Rivero for a deep pass that got the Raiders deep into Raging Rinos territory. Two plays later, Rios found the end zone again, this time on a 12-yard pass from Bajwa, to tie the game at 36.
“I knew I needed to push this team, push our line” Ward said. “Try my hardest for sure. The team kind of depended on me. We needed that for sure.”
As the clock continued to wind down, Twelve Bridges got the second to last possession. Getting saved by a defensive facemask call, the Raging Rinos stuck to their slow game, gradually getting down field. After being held up at the Reed 15-yard line with 18 seconds left, Gant took two steps back, three steps to the side and put the nearly 30-yard field goal through the uprights. Reed attempted to make a last-second comeback with a lateral-run play, but fumbled the ball on the lateral, sealing the game 39-36 in favor of the Raging Rinos.
“(We got to) take it game by game, week by week,” wide receiver and defensive back Gavin Rappa said. “Always got to be better than the last week. So, this week coming up, we’re going to work harder than we did last week, even if it’s a better or worse team. It doesn’t matter. We’re going to get better as a unit.”
With their most recent game in the books, Reed, who was the no. 9 best team in Nevada heading into this week, moved to 2-1 on the season. The Raiders will move on to play at Hug high (0-3) on Sept. 6 at 7 p.m. The Raging Rinos are now 2-0 in their season, and will prepare for a home game against the Whitney Wildcats (0-2) on Sept. 6 at 7:30 p.m.
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