Riverside High School’s inaugural season got off to a good start and finished even stronger as the Knights where able to capture the Wachovia Conference Cup, which is awarded by the NCHSAA and given to the school that has the most successful athletic program in its conference.
Riverside, which hails from the prolific Four Rivers Conference, racked up 132 points to top Manteo, who scored 128.5 points to take second. Northside tallied 107 points to grab the bronze and place ahead of Camden (107), Southside (89), Perquimans (88), South Creek (84.5) and Plymouth (62). Among 1-A schools, Riverside placed 13th in the state.
“When we started out in the fall we talked about how important it was to win the Wachovia Cup with our athletic teams. It’s a goal that we strive for every year,” Riverside athletic director Herbie Rogers said.
Riverside, which was formed this year when Jamesville merged with Williamston, had tremendous athletic success across the board. In the fall, the Knights football team made it to the second round of the playoffs while the volleyball team, which is coached by Rogers, won the conference and went on a playoff run that stretched into the East Regional finals. In the winter, the boys’ basketball team also made it to the East Regional finals while the girls’ team was able to get into the second round.
Riverside really turned up the heat in the summer as the girls’ track and field team and softball team won conference crowns and the baseball team earned a share of a conference title. The Knights also earned conference championships in boys and girls tennis and in boys’ golf.
“We came from 12 points down in the spring and got enough points to overtake Manteo and win it,” Rogers said. “We really had a great athletic year overall.”
The merger of Williamston and Jamesville High Schools grouped together two schools with solid athletic traditions which placed high expectations on all of Riverside’s sports teams, and the program handled the spotlight well.
“We took two different schools and put them together and our kids really did a good job of coming together and playing together. We couldn’t have asked for anything better than what it was,” Rogers said.
Having a talented group of athletes is always a good start, but in order to have sustained success a program must have good coaches.
“We’re excited about our coaches, they were extremely hard during the season and also work hard in the offseason to get our kids ready to play,” Rogers said. “That carries over into the season; we feel like we have a really good group of coaches.”