ELLWOOD CITY — The Moniteau football team's road loss to Riverside Thursday night ended the team's chance of an undefeated season.

But the Warriors are hoping that's all they lost.

Senior quarterback Tyler Armagost left the game in the second quarter and did not return as Moniteau fell for the first time this season, 12-7.

"He took a shot to the spine," said Moniteau coach Jeff Campbell. "Obviously, he didn't return, but he should be fine."

Aside from 103 rushing yards from junior James Shope, whose 33-yard scoring run led the Warriors to a 7-6 lead at halftime, Moniteau's offense struggled before and after Armagost's injury.

"If you're not in the playoffs, I can't think of a better way to end the season than to beat a 9-0 team," said Riverside coach Jesse Rosenberger. "This was like a bowl game for us."

"I knew this was going to be a tough game," said Campbell. "I knew the type of competition (Riverside) faces week in and week out."

With 10:11 left in the third quarter, the host Panthers took over at Moniteau's 42-yard line and capped a nine-play drive with Cole Jackson's 2-yard run, making the score 12-7.

Riverside (4-6) went for two points after both of its touchdowns and failed each time.

But, with some help from the offense, the Panthers' defense made the five-point lead stand up.

Riverside used nearly six minutes on a 52-yard drive in the fourth quarter to help it keep the advantage.

Though Riverside lost the ball on downs, the Warriors took over on their own 5-yard line with just 2:18 left in the game.

"We were lucky enough to make some plays and get yards when we needed them," said Rosenberger.

With senior Mitch Czech under center, the Warriors' offense drove to midfield before the drive stalled as time expired.

Riverside struck first in the game when sophomore quarterback Matt Wilson hit Justin McCanna with a 16-yard touchdown pass a little over three minutes into the second period.

The Warriors (9-1) were hampered by 13 penalties worth 119 yards. Riverside was flagged four times for 25 yards.

"If it's truly a penalty, that's fine," said Campbell. "But don't take the game out of the kids' hands."

Campbell now will work to get his team refocused for the start of next week's District 9 Class AA playoffs.

"Our goal coming into this game was to get other kids some playing time," he said. "I hope we haven't taken a step back."

Riverside 12, Moniteau 7

Moniteau 0 7 0 0—7Riverside 0 6 6 0—12M R7 First Downs 833-101 Rushes-Yards 38-7559 Passing Yards 695-11-1 Passes (Comp.-Att.-Int.) 4-8-69160 Total Yards 1441-0 Fumbles/Lost 1-113-119 Penalties-Yards 4-25

Second QuarterR — Justin McCanna 16 pass from Matt Wilson (run failed), 8:51M — James Shope 33 run (Andrew Miller kick), 2:02

Third QuarterR — Cole Jackson 2 run (run failed), 5:34

Individual Statistics

Passing: Moniteau, Tyler Armagost 1-3-1-1, James Shope 0-1-0-0, Mitch Czech 4-7-58-0. Riverside, Matt Wilson 4-7-69-0, Cole Jackson 0-1-0-0.

Rushing: Moniteau, Justin Sanderson 4-15, Tyler Armagost 7-(-10), Dakota Campbell 2-3, James Shope 16-103, Mitch Czech 4-(-10). Riverside, Jared Desensi 11-36, Luc Creese 4-(-4), Cole Jackson 19-64, Matt Wilson 4-(-21).

Receiving: Moniteau, James Shope 2-2, Clayton Casper 3-57. Riverside, Justin McCanna 3-64, Cole Jackson 1-5.