Three dropped or bobbled passes by Cape Coral senior receiver Prince Holloway on Saturday evening had his new coach Brad Metheny wondering about his top offensive threat.
But with 51.6 seconds remaining, Holloway put some of his coach’s concerns to rest.
Holloway caught a pass in the open field from senior quarterback Bryan Greenwell and then sprinted into the Dave Warkentin Field end zone for a 49-yard touchdown reception.
Two plays later, time ran out on the Riverdale Raiders, who had to settle for a 20-20 tie with the Cape Coral Seahawks in a preseason game that began 22.5 hours after it was originally scheduled because of heavy rain and poor field conditions.
Both coaches were just happy to get a full game in following a week of rain-shortened practices. Rain and lightning threatened again at halftime, but a 30-minute delay later, the second half began with Cape Coral still trying to get the ball in Holloway’s hands.
“He’s one of the fastest kids in the area,” Riverdale coach Rob Hinson.
“For our defense to contain him for as long as it did, I’m happy about that. He just happened to break it with 50 seconds left in the game.
“If he gets some touches, he can break it at any time.”
Holloway caught six passes for 107 yards and the game-tying touchdown. He also scored on an 8-yard reverse with 5:07 remaining in the second quarter with Cape Coral trailing 14-7.
Greenwell completed 10-of-22 passes for 203 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions.
Riverdale junior quarterback Jeff Colton, who shook off a vicious hit in which his helmet flew off, took command after completing a 24-yard pass to senior Roderick Lindsey for a 7-0 lead with 55 second remaining in the first quarter.
Colton struck again early in the second quarter, firing a 5-yard pass to senior David Klimaszewski for a 14-0 lead that impressed Hinson.
“He loves it,” Hinson said of Colton’s physical style of play. Colton rushed eight times for 54 yards. He completed 9-of-17 passes for 98 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
“He’s 6-foot-2, 195 pounds. He works hard in the weight room. He matches up with linebackers. He is stepping up. He is starting to take charge. He showed some maturity out there.”
Both teams had trouble getting their running games going. Cape sophomore T.J. Johnson rushed for 43 yards, including a 5-yard touchdown, on 11 carries. Riverdale junior Levi Sourinha rushed for 27 yards, including a 4-yard touchdown, on 10 carries.
Cape Coral coach Brad Metheny praised his defense, in particular senior linebacker Chris Johnson (interception, half a sack), senior Josh Monteagudo, Andrew Iverson, Shaq Edwards and Mark Bailer.
“They made plays,” Metheny said. “Johnson’s interception was huge.”
Riverdale 7 7 0 6 – 20
Cape Coral 0 7 0 13 – 20
Riverdale: Roderick Lindsey 24 pass from Jeff Colton (Mark DeBoy kick)
Riverdale: David Klimaszewski 5 pass from Colton (DeBoy kick)
Cape Coral: Prince Holloway 8 run (Johnathan Ramirez kick)
Cape Coral: T.J. Johnson 5 run (run failed)
Riverdale: Levi Sourinha 4 run (kick blocked)
Cape Coral: Holloway 49 pass from Greenwell (Ramirez kick)