Syrupmakers set to face athletic Riverdale team

The Cairo Syrupmakers (7-0, 8-2) will host round one of the state AAAA playoffs this Friday night against the Riverdale Raiders (4-2, 7-3). The Raiders are the number four seeded team in region 4-AAAA. This will be the first time these two teams have ever played each other. Cairo coach Tom Fallaw summed up the Raiders in one word, “Athletic.”
According to Fallaw, “They have quite a few athletes on both sides of the ball. Their quarterback has a good arm and has some pretty good targets at receiver. They play pretty good defense and don’t give up a lot.” The Raiders have two shutouts and are averaging giving up about 18 points a game, while their offense is scoring about 22 points a game.  
The Raiders have lost three games this season, 38-0 to Dutchtown, 35-14 to Griffin, and 15-7 to Jonesboro. Riverdale defeated Locust Grove last Friday night in the region play-in game to earn the fourth spot in the subdivided region 4-AAAA. “Two of their three losses came to 9-1 in teams, Griffin and Jonesboro. Jonesboro will face Westover and has already beaten them earlier in the year 34-12, and  Griffin has Monroe. Jonesboro’s only loss was to Griffin, and Griffin lost their first game of the season to M.L. King, which is a five A school and is 10-0, so this is not your typical fourth seeded team coming in here Friday night,” said Fallaw.
“This time of year, everyone is pretty good, so we need to continue to get better and keep our mistakes and turnovers down, because when you get to the playoffs, that’s the difference in the games for the most part,” said Fallaw.
Kickoff for Friday night’s playoff game is set for 7:30 at West Thomas Stadium. Tickets are $10 as set by the GHSA and are on sale at Cairo High School. This year’s season ticket holders can claim their seats with ticket stubs from this season’s games, with the purchase of a ticket. The game will be broadcast live on WGRA-790AM and streamed live at www.wgra.net.