BLANCHARDVILLE — The Pecatonica-Argyle Vikings were looking forward to their Homecoming game at McKellar Park against the Riverdale Chieftains on Saturday, Sept. 27. The Chieftains had other ideas.

Riverdale successfully ran the ball for 348 yards and intercepted four Viking passes to blank Pecatonica-Argyle 31-0 in a Six Rivers Conference game. 

The Chieftains scored on their first possession on a 4-yard touchdown run by Brody Miess. The extra point failed and Riverdale had a 6-0 lead with 8:04 left in the second quarter. After Bevyn Dennis intercepted a Martin Anderson pass, Riverdale went on a 16-play, 61-yard drive capped by quarterback Owen Blankenship’s 2-yard touchdown run and a two-point conversion to take a 14-0 lead with 5:28 to play before halftime.

Riverdale threatened to score again, but Ashton McNett got an interception in the end zone for the Vikings with 1:37 left before halftime to turn back the Chieftains. The scored stayed at 14-0 until the fourth quarter when the Chieftains got 17 unanswered points. Miess reached the end zone on a 4-yard TD run to put Riverdale up 21-0. A 1-yard run by Dennis and Eli Campbell’s extra point made it 28-0 with 6:06 left in the game. Campbell connected on a 40-yard field goal with 3:08 left to give the Chieftains a 31-0 win.  

Pecatonica-Argyle coach Mark Stateler pointed out how the Chieftains dominated the game on the ground, with much of their yardage coming after initial contact.

“They came in ready to go and we couldn’t execute on tackles. And, when a team is trying to run it and you don’t tackle, it’s a recipe for disaster,” said Stateler. 

Pecatonica-Argyle (1-5, 1-3 Six Rivers) will host undefeated Black Hawk-Warren at 2 p.m. on Saturday in Argyle for Argyle’s Homecoming.