Hennigan Impressed With Riverdale Defense

This Friday, the Cookeville Cavaliers travel to Murfreesboro to take on the Riverdale Warriors in their first round playoff match-up.

The 8-2 Cavs roll into their third straight playoff appearance coming off of a 51-0 win, but head coach Taylor Hennigan said he doubts they will be able to duplicate that score versus Riverdale. With this being the second year in a row the Cavs have faced the Warriors in the playoffs, he said this week is about focusing on themselves.

“We’ve been there before, it is not anything new,” Hennigan said. “We know what kind of environment we’re going into and the type of team we’re going to play. So, for us it’s just about focusing on what we have to do to be successful.”

Last year Riverdale defeated the Cavs 42-21 to end the Cookeville season in round one in Murfreesboro. Hennigan said what stood our last year when he played them and what stands out on this year’s film is the Warrior defense.

“Yeah, their defense is legit,” Hennigan said. “They’re fast, they can run, they’re good in the box and they’ve got length. We’ve got our work cut out for us and they’ve done it against a number of different teams.”

Hennigan said it is clear watching Riverdale’s film that they are a well coached team. He said coach Will Kriesky has all three sides of the ball performing at a high level when it matters most.

But with the Cavs averaging 34.8 points a game and with the lineup being as healthy as it can be heading into the playoffs, Hennigan said he is pleased with where the offense stands heading into round one.

“We’re going to have to play a complete game and play some complimentary football this week for sure,” Hennigan said. “I don’t think it’s going to be 51-0 of course, but we like where we’re at. We got a chance to put some good drives together and put points on the board.”

Cavaliers versus Warriors this Friday night, pre-game coverage starting on Sports Radio 104.7 at 6:30, kickoff at 7pm.