Falcons best Eagles in close Homecoming

For the Riverdale Country School Falcons, homecoming was a constant seesaw battle between anger and euphoria. 

First, an epic comeback from the Ethical Culture Fieldston School Eagles saw the Falcons blow a 16-point lead — the cause for the anger. 

Then, the Falcons regained the lead 24-16 in the fourth, thanks to a 20-yard touchdown run from running back Avery Hoffman — that’s when the euphoria came in.

The Falcons came in danger of blowing the lead once again as the Eagles scored a touchdown with less than two minutes remaining, trimming the Riverdale lead to 24-22 and leaving them just a two-point conversion shy of tying the game.

But Riverdale’s frustration quickly turned into elation as the Falcons stopped the Eagles’ two-point conversion attempt and Riverdale held on for the two-point victory. 

“This game was really a fight and it came down to literally the last play, who was going to make a play and we did,” Hoffman said. 

The last possession played out exactly how Lance Ramer, Riverdale’s head coach, planned for it. 

“We gave them a little bit of a different look than we had been giving,” he said. “We just put some pressure on them. Tried to make them uncomfortable and try to rush the throw, and he did. They made a lot of plays though. They’re a good team. They’re gritty and they fought hard. It was a typical Riverdale-Fieldston close game.”

Strong start

But for a large part of the first half, it wasn’t the typical Riverdale-Fieldston close game. It was a Riverdale blowout.

The Falcons held a 16-0 lead in the second quarter, thanks to two touchdown catches by Ernest Robertson. His second touchdown was the highlight play of the game. 

Robertson and a Fieldston defensive back went up for a pass, but Robertson was able to reach over the defender, tip the ball in the air two times, come down with the catch and run to the end zone for an 80-yard touchdown.

“I’d dropped so many before I was just like, ‘I need to put the ball in my hands,’” Robertson said. “The QB trusted me throwing the ball, so I was saying, ‘I’ve got to give him something.’”