Riverside football aims to fill gaps, set new milestones in 2025

Fresh off a 2024 season that saw Riverside achieve several milestones, a new-look Warriors team is hoping to make even louder noise in 2025.

Riverside football finished 6-5 in 2024, only the program’s second winning season since 2008. The Warriors downed Greenville in the first round of the 2024 playoffs, earning their first postseason victory since the same year.

This season, Riverside aims to replicate and possibly even surpass its recent success. But make no mistake about it: this year’s team looks different. A lot different.

“We’re a lot younger this year,” said Riverside head coach Matt Rochester. “That’s for sure. But we’re looking to see which of these guys wants to step up and show us something.”

One of the biggest key returning pieces for Riverside? That would be junior quarterback, Gideon Merhib.

Last year, the gunslinging Merhib burst onto the scene for the Warriors. After making the jump from JV to varsity ball, Merhib accounted for 2,256 total yards of offense and 28 passing touchdowns for Riverside.

Merhib is back and more confident than ever.

“I feel like I’ve stepped into a real leadership role this summer,” said Merhib. “Last year, it was kind of me just following some of the older guys on the team. This time, I feel like I’m bringing the guys with me instead. Guys like Mikkel [Skinner] showed me how to be a leader last year, and now I’m doing it.”

Skinner — who graduated last year and now plays in college at Kentucky — is arguably the most glaring loss for the Warriors. Skinner finished his Warrior career as one of the program’s all-time leading wide receivers in every stat category.

“We’re going to miss him, no question,” said Merhib. “He’s such a great player and is doing great at Kentucky right now. But again, we’re going to continue to build with what we have. We’ve got a lot of great players out wide, and I’m going to make sure everyone gets the ball this year.”

Riverside’s top two wide receivers this year will be a pair of seniors: Jaiden “Speedy" Taylor and Somad Eaddy.

Before suffering a season-ending knee injury in 2024, Taylor was leading the state in receiving yards. He hopes to be back and fully healthy by week one.

Eaddy — a Wake Forest commit — is known mainly for his abilities at cornerback. In the last few games of 2024, however, Riverside’s coaching staff decided to deploy him at wide receiver in Taylor’s absence. He showed out, racking up 393 yards and three touchdowns in three games.

It’s full-steam ahead on both sides of the ball for Eaddy this season.

“I’ve played some wide receiver since I was younger, but the end of last year was the first time I really got to play it at this level,” said Eaddy. “I’m excited. I can’t wait. I can finally show people what I can do on offense.”

Eaddy will headline a Riverside defensive unit that is down several key playmakers from last year.

In the trenches, senior lineman Baylis Carroll and Adrian Stancel are names to follow for the Warriors. Carroll will anchor the offensive line at center, while Stancel locks it down on defense.

“We’re making sure we’re filling in for some of the guys that left,” said Carroll. “I feel like I’m stepping into that spot and becoming a leader for the offensive line.”

“We’ve got to keep a dog mentality each day, each week,” said Stancel. “We know how tough the region we play in is. Each day is important. They add up. And then Fridays, that’s when we cash out. That’s what we call our ‘money day.’”

Friday nights for Riverside this year bring massive hurdles, week in and week out. Playing in Region 2-5A is the envy of no team in the state. Several of Riverside’s fellow region teams are expected to contend for state titles. Gaffney, Spartanburg, and Byrnes are just a few.

If all the pieces fall together, however, Riverside wouldn’t be surprised to see itself making some noise in the postseason.

“It’s going to look different for us this year, but we love the guys we’ve got in the building,” said Rochester. “We may be a little younger on both sides of the ball, but these guys are going to fight every single week.”

Riverside Key Returners:

QB Gideon Merhib

CB/WR Somad Eaddy

WR Jaiden “Speedy” Taylor

OL Bayliss Carroll

DL Adrian Stancel

LB Owen Downs

OL/DL Marques Skinner

RB Keyon Knowles

Riverside Key Departures:

WR Mikkel Skinner

LB Jack Merriman