This is part two of a two part series featuring area athletes in fall 2022 sports.

The start of fall sports is upon us, so we took the opportunity catch up with the athletes of those teams to see what they are doing to prepare for the upcoming rivalries and to offer some perspective on the season ahead and their plans for the future. [VIEW PART 1 – ELLWOOD CITY  Q&A]

Riverside Athletes

Football

Sam Hughes

Grade? 12th

How many years have you been in Football?  12 years

What do you feel is your biggest strength in Football? My knowledge of the game

What is your favorite part of it? Going to war on Friday nights

How have you and your group been getting ready for the new season? Staying focused and training hard

Who do you feel is your biggest rivalry this upcoming season? Ellwood

What is one skill you have learned from Football that you will utilize in your future and how? To always keep fighting even if things aren’t going your way

What has your favorite memory been over the years? Beating Burgettstown in the playoffs

What are your future plans after graduation? Will you continue to play sports after high school? Attend a 4-year college and possibly play football

Noah George

Grade? 12th

How many years have you been in Football? 8 years

What do you feel is your biggest strength in Football? One part of my game that I feel the most confident is my speed and agility. Being one of the smallest guys in pretty much every match up we have comes with its advantages and also disadvantages. One of the advantages you have as a smaller guy is quickness and elusiveness over heavier slower guys.

What is your favorite part of it? My favorite part of football is competing as a team with my friends. all of these guys I’m playing beside I’ve known for my whole life this just makes it that much easier to work with them. Nothing’s better than winning a football game with your brothers.

How have you and your group been getting ready for the new season? Installing new plays and perfecting the controllable aspects of the game. Day in and day out all of the guys have been getting noticeably better right before my eyes whether it’s physically or mentally we’ve worked hard all summer and we’re only getting better by the week. can’t wait to see it all come full circle on Friday nights

Who do you feel is your biggest rivalry this upcoming season? Our biggest rivalry this season has to be Ellwood city. continuing the crosstown rivalry that everyone from the area looks forward to every football season. If you’re from either of these schools, you know how much this rivalry means to the two sides.

What is one skill you have learned from Football that you will utilize in your future and how? Working as a team and working with others. Football is a heavily team focused game. If one person does their job wrong, it can interfere with the performance of the whole team and can affect the outcome of the game. This skill could be used on a job site or anywhere there is a group of people working toward a common goal. Adapting to new people and change in the team or atmosphere is also a good skill to have.

What has your favorite memory been over the years? My favorite memory from my entire football career was when we beat Burgettstown 42-35 my freshman year. upsetting a team in overtime at their own field is always a great feeling. especially being down early on in the game 14-0.

What are your future plans after graduation? Will you continue to play sports after high school? After high school I plan to further my education and possibly play sports while doing so.

Denver Hoyman

Grade? 12th

How many years have you been in Football?  I have played football for a total 2 years

What do you feel is your biggest strength in Football? I feel my strength catching

What is your favorite part of it? My favorite part is working hard for a the end goal

How have you and your group been getting ready for the new season? We have been getting ready by working hard and pushing each other to get better

Who do you feel is your biggest rivalry this upcoming season? I feel Beaver falls because they are the team to beat this year but also Elwood. That is because they always have been our rival and is always a great game.

What is one skill you have learned from Football that you will utilize in your future and how? I think one skill I have learned from playing football this year is to never give up and just work hard till the job is finished. I think I will use in the future when I leave for the Navy next summer because it gave me a don’t give up mentality.

What has your favorite memory been over the years? My favorite memory has to be the after-school study halls of film and stupid games on the smart board. And listening to Shawn ask stupid questions.

What are your future plans after graduation? Will you continue to play sports after high school? My future plans are to become a Navy Pilot and I will not be doing any sports after high school.

Joseph Reed

Grade? Senior

How many years have you been in Football?  11 years

What do you feel is your biggest strength in Football? My biggest strength is my ability to read an opposing team’s offense

What is your favorite part of it? My favorite part of football is winning.

How have you and your group been getting ready for the new season? My team this year has focus heavily on becoming better athletes. We’ve been able to become faster, stronger, and more powerful through the programs our coaches have put together.

Who do you feel is your biggest rivalry this upcoming season? Our biggest rival is obviously Ellwood

What is one skill you have learned from Football that you will utilize in your future and how? The discipline needed in football is something I’ll definitely be carrying with me later in life.

What has your favorite memory been over the years? Making a deep playoff run as the underdogs my freshman year.

What are your future plans after graduation? Will you continue to play sports after high school? I plan on doing track in college and majoring in finance.

Volleyball

Amber Bell

Grade? 12th grade

How many years have you been played volleyball? 2 years

What do you feel is your biggest strength in volleyball? Serving

What is your favorite part of it? Being there for each other as a team on and off the courts

How have you and your group been getting ready for the new season? Long practices

Who do you feel is your biggest rivalry this upcoming season? Ellwood city

What is one skill you have learned from volleyball that you will utilize in your future and how? Putting in the practice and working hard, no matter what I do in life I’m going to have to work hard for it and practice for it.

What has your favorite memory been over the years? Game days and bus rides

What are your future plans after graduation? Will you continue to play sports after high school? I don’t know what the future holds for me yet, but I do hope to play volleyball in the future