INDUSTRY — Western Beaver High School football knew that it was in for a tough test when it faced a gauntlet of a non-conference schedule the last three weeks.
But after taking its lumps in those three games, Western Beaver came out and shut down a red-hot Riverside team in Week 4, winning its conference opener 28-10 at Rich Niedbala Field on Friday, Sept. 18.
“We were ready for tonight,” Western Beaver head coach Ron Busby said. “We knew that early season was going to be rough. Conference football is what it is all about; we were battle-tested, and we came out here and battled tonight, limited mistakes, and played with energy.”
Heading into its first conference game of the season, Western Beaver (1-3, 1-0 MAC) gave up 32 points per game. However, in its last game against Steel Valley, the Golden Beavers put together their best defensive effort of the year, holding their opponent to just 14 points.
That defensive success carried over against Riverside (3-1, 0-1 MAC), with senior linebacker Braeden Mayo swarming in the backfield and recording several key tackles, while Western Beaver’s secondary held strong, only allowing three points in the first half.
“Our team kept the same intensity on defense as we did last week,” Mayo said. “Everyone knew their assignments and everyone did their role tonight.”
Along with the team’s strong defense, Western Beaver’s offense also put together the best performance of its young season.
After averaging just 3.6 yards per carry on 44 attempts, senior running back Wyatt Sparbanie got back to what he was known for during his dominant junior campaign.
Sparbanie sparked Western Beaver’s first points of the game on the offense’s second drive, breaking free for a 53-yard run. A few plays later, Sparbanie plunged in from five yards out to cap off the drive.
“It felt great to be able to get my legs out there and get out in the open field,” Sparbanie said. “Everyone was doing their jobs and it was our best performance on offense all year.”
On the other side, after dominant first three games of the season, Riverside’s offense fell flat against Western Beaver’s defense.
With leading rusher Mason Holler out with an injury, the Panthers turned to Alex Sprankle, Abram Orgovan, Jayden Buck and Montgomery Michael to try and replace his production.
While the trio of backs had opportunities to break free with some long runs, penalties plagued the team and stalled out some of its drives.
“Anytime that you have as many penalties as we did and you are constantly staring a first and long, it is going to be a difficult time on offense,” Riverside head coach Fran Ramsden said. “We’ll watch the film, evaluate our play moving forward and minimize our mistakes.”
Riverside will continue MAC Conference play on Sept. 25 when it hosts New Brighton in Week 5. Western Beaver will jump back to non-conference action as it travels to face Hopewell. Both games are set to kick off at 7 p.m.
Ethan Morrison is the sports reporter for the Beaver County Times. Contact him at emorrison@usatodayco.com and follow him at EthanMorrison26 on X.
This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Western Beaver football puts together complete effort against Riverside
