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Riverbank Drops Home Football Opener To Livingston
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After showing brief glimpses of potential in the season opener, the Riverbank Bruins continued to climb the ladder of improvement, but will need another week to take a step into the win column after falling 28-18 to the Livingston Wolves on Friday, Sept. 19 at Angelo Novi Field.

Donovan Wallace continued to make Trans-Valley League foes aware of the Bruins' instant offense capabilities, gift-wrapping Riverbank to a first quarter lead with a 71-yard punt return for a touchdown.

The Bruins were in the driver's seat for the majority of the first quarter and into the second after Wallace struck again with a 96-yard kickoff return following a Livingston field goal.

"The return was something else," Riverbank head coach Paul Smith said. "They were trying to kick it away from him so he had to run it down back at the four. He just took off, cut back about three times, did a little zig-and-zag up the middle and he was gone.

"It was pretty unbelievable."

The Wolves reacted in an unkindly manner, putting together three consecutive touchdown drives to close out the first half with a commanding 21-12 lead. Riverbank would battle the Wolves to a near stalemate through the second half, capping a late drive with a touchdown reception by Andrew Franco.

Franco hauled in a 17-yard strike delivered by Wallace to give the Bruins their final points of the evening, but certainly not their final points of the season.

"Anybody who watched that game knows that we didn't have all the yards, but I think we were the better team," Smith said. "However, our mental mistakes killed us again.

"We gave them the football game."

The Bruins will look to put everything together and get in the win column when they make the trek to Delhi to take on the 0-2 Delhi Hawks this week. Riverbank has been close to putting together two solid halves of football and the Hawks may be the team that witnesses the full potential of this season's squad.

"All we have to do right is stick to what we're supposed to be doing," Smith said of his ball team. "False starts, offsides, illegal formations, all these little things add up the difference.

"We'll be fine, we just have to stop shooting ourselves in the foot."

The JV Bruins got on the board with a couple of touchdowns Friday night against the Wolves, but it wasn't enough as the visitors took a 48-12 victory from the home team.