Rivers leads Stags to win over Ashley Ridge

Moncks Corner - Berkeley sophomore quarterback Henry Rivers has made quite a name for himself as a passer, but it was his legs that proved huge as the Stags came from behind to beat Ashley Ridge, 41-26, in the 2024 season opener for both teams.

While he did throw three touchdown passes for more than 100 yards, Rivers rushed for 170 yards, scoring on a 56-yard run and setting up the go-ahead score with a 38-yard scamper to lead the Stags to a seventh straight home win, dating back to last season.

The Stags ran for more than 250 yards as a team, and trailed throughout the first half before tying the game at 20 when Rivers hit Kayden Bash on a 20-yard score with 4:00 left in the third quarter.

After Rivers’ run set the offense up inside the 10-yard line, Jesse Brown bulled his way in from a yard out, giving the Stags their first lead of the game at 27-20.

Just seconds later, sophomore Cam McCue intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown for a 34-20 lead with 10:40 remaining in the game.

Ashley Ridge put together a quick score on a touchdown pass by Kalisz but missed on a two-point try to trail, 34-26 with 8:18 remaining.

Rivers and the ground game churned clock before Rivers tossed a touchdown pass to Kevin Boone with 5:15 to push the lead to 41-26.

Ashley Ridge ran 30 plays on their first two possessions of the game, converting four times on fourth down and finishing each drive with touchdowns.

Trevor Kalisz capped the first possession with a fourth down touchdown pass of seven yards to Bam Deweese for the early 7-0 lead.

The Stags answered with a touchdown on their first possession as Rivers connected with Jonathan Mitchell on an eight-yard pass. A bad snap ruined the extra point, leaving the Swamp Foxes with a 7-6 lead with 2:10 left in the first quarter.

Kalisz added a six-yard run in the second quarter for a 13-6 lead. Rivers answered that score with a 56-yard scamper. A missed extra point left the halftime score at 13-12.