By RYAN ARENA
L’Observateur

In the moments after Riverside’s dominating win over Class 2A No. 6 Newman, Riverside coach Bill Stubbs revealed there was another game he had circled on his calendar before the season ever began — South Plaquemines at Riverside on Oct. 24.

The Hurricanes shocked the Rebels last season, 12-6, just after Riverside had ascended to the No. 1 rank in Class 2A following a 35-28 win over then-No. 1 Newman. But an injury to quarterback Deuce Wallace put the Rebels back on their heels, and a tough-minded South Plaquemines defense did the rest.

Two years ago, South Plaquemines beat Riverside in an entirely different fashion, 63-50 in a shootout.

This will be Riverside coach Bill Stubbs’ third crack at the Hurricanes, and he expects the flow of the game to more closely mirror last season’s defensive slugfest than the highlight-filled affair of two years ago.

Either way, the Hurricanes are sure to have the Rebels’ full attention this time around.

“You can’t underestimate that team,” Stubbs said. “They’re big, strong and physical. At times, they’re a bit haphazard in how they play, but they’re always dangerous. Coming off of Newman, we can’t afford to have any kind of a letdown. Are we fired up? Maybe, but I’d say it’s more accurate to say we’ve being very cautious. This is an important game for us. We haven’t beat them yet.”

Chasing a high-profile game with an intense, physical battle always offers “trip up” potential, and the Hurricanes have district title aspirations of their own, boasting just one district loss so far.

Size on both lines is South Plaquemines’ biggest strength, Stubbs said.

“They’re not doing anything fancy,” Stubbs said. “They try to outman and overpower you. They’re playing a plain old smash mouth game. What it comes down to for us is this will be a gut check. We need our offensive and defensive lines to answer and outplay theirs.”

South Plaquemines (3-4, 3-1) comes off a tough 20-12 loss at home against St. James. That game was the first time the Hurricanes allowed more than 14 points in a game since Week 2; SPHS had allowed 28 combined points in its four previous games.

Of South Plaquemines’ four losses, two were to upper classification teams (Belle Chasse, South Lafourche) and another was to Class 2A Wilkinson County of Mississippi.

Wade Bartholomew scored both touchdowns for South Plaquemines last week, one on a rushing play and one on an interception return.

The Rebels (7-0, 4-0) are now ranked No. 2 in the LSWA Class 2A poll, up from their No. 3 position in last week’s vote.