Riverview Middle School continued its winning ways with a 14-12 victory over Gilmer County in Ellijay last Thursday.

The Eagles are currently 4-1 on the season. With a win against Clear Creek Middle School this week, the Eagles will clinch a spot in the championship game.

As both teams readied for play last week, the sky opened up and dumped over an inch of rain.

With the weather playing havoc turnovers were a big worry for Eagle Head Coach Mark Thomason.

"The rain really hurt us. We put the ball on the ground five or six times and lost two of those. The field was a mud hole by the end of the first quarter," he said.

Gilmer got on the scoreboard first on a long drive after the opening kickoff. The Bobcat fullback dove over the goal line from one-yard out for the touchdown.

The extra point was no good. Gilmer held a 6-0 lead.

Riverview had a sustained drive on offense just before halftime. Good runs by Scott Zadernak and Drew Bishop set up an Eagle touchdown.

Zadernak scored on a 20-yard run to make the score 6-6. Luis Miranda added the extra point to give the Eagles a 7-6 advantage at halftime.

The rain finally let up to start the second half.

Thomason's offense drove the ball 80 yards behind a determined offensive line. The legs of Zadernak and Bishop proved big again, as Bishop found the end zone on a 12-yard run. Miranda added the extra point and Riverview held a 14-6 lead.

Gilmer took the ensuing kickoff and returned it 82-yards for a touchdown, to bring the score to 14-12.

The Bobcats tried a 2-point conversion. Zadernak made the play of the game with a huge hit behind the line of scrimmage to stop the 2-point conversion. Riverview held on to a slim 2-point lead.

It was a defensive struggle for the rest of the game as neither team threatened to score again.

"Defensively, Scott Zadernak led the team in tackles and made a big stop on the two-point conversion. Gavin Brown and Gabe Cooper also made some nice plays," said Thomason.

"Scott Zadernak led the team in rushing yards and carried the ball a lot. Drew Bishop had a nice touchdown run and Gabe Cooper also played well.

"Overall we played bad, but we were able to find a way to win. We didn't take care of the ball or play that hard overall. Just found a way to make just enough plays. Scotty had a huge day for us," Thomason added.

Riverview will host Clear Creek Thursday. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m.