Matt Vines

EAST POINT – With Riverdale football having only eight practices before the regular-season opener on Aug. 14, the first couple of games have been a whirlwind.

It doesn’t help that the Rebels (0-2) have faced perhaps their toughest competition on the slate in Wilkinson County Christian and River Oaks.

But headed into its third regular season game of the year with Lafayette County (Ark.), the Rebels are getting their footing. Kickoff is at 7:30 at Riverdale.

“The intensity at practice is getting better, and we’re establishing an offense,” said Riverdale coach Denver Williams. “Lafayette County is bigger than us, but our goal is to bring more intensity.”

Jackson Hillman and Cannon Breedlove have taken ownership of the team, Williams said.

Breedlove is the team’s lone senior, who returned to the team after multiple years away from the sport.

He answered the call when Riverdale was in jeopardy of not fielding a team, helping boost the Rebels from three players midsummer all the way to 12 players to start the season.

Breedlove scored Riverdale’s lone touchdown on a catch from quarterback Jayden Jones in the fourth quarter against WCCA.

Now that offense will look to put up a multitude of points, but they’ll face a larger Lafayette County squad that plays in Class 2A, the largest allowed to play 8-man football.

The Cougars haven’t played a game yet this season and are coming off a 2-8 campaign in 2025. The roster does list 19 players with 13 of those as juniors and seniors.

The Arkansas Athletics Association smartly installed 8-man football as an option for its public schools, allowing Class 1A and Class 2A programs to voluntarily play in 8-man leagues with those choosing to play 11-man put into a combined league.

Louisiana witnessed its first parish (Tensas) without public school football because of declining enrollment and the lack of an 8-man option, for which smaller schools across the state would likely sign up.

Riverdale football lived to fight another day, and they’ll be fighting for their first win since the 2024 season when Lafayette County comes to town.

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