HANNIBAL – The guys in the trenches are the unsung heroes of most football teams. They do all the dirty work and very seldom get any credit.

River’s offensive line did yeoman’s work Friday night as it paved the way for five ball carriers to combine for 423 yards and four touchdowns in a 41-7 pasting of visiting Ohio 7 rival Shadyside (1-6) on the artificial surface at chilly Martin Flannery Field.

“Give credit to those big dogs up front. Nobody ever wants to talk about them, but our offensive linemen work their tails off,” River head coach Mike Flannery said. “They earned their due justice tonight.”

The veteran River head coach was referring to seniors Brayden Strawn, Mason Randall and Marshall Bier, along with juniors Hunter Nething, Zeke Zola and Matt Gregg and sophomore Peyton Blue.

Those seven made life easy for Brody Lollathin, Kaden Johnson, Kabel Isaly, Finn Bowers and Ty Long. Lollathin led the way with 157 yards and three touchdowns on runs of 8, 64 and 13. Johnson bulled his way to 90 stripes on 10 carries and a 34-yard scoring jaunt. Isaly added 71 on just four totes, but went for 63 on a third-and-18 from his own 26. Bowers added 65 on 10 trips and Long lugged the leather four times for 43.

“That was our game plan going in,” Flannery noted. “We felt we could run the ball against them, but when they started putting everyone in the box, we started to throw.

“I’m really proud of our kids and the character we showed,” Flannery continued. “Our kids have a great work ethic, and it showed tonight.”

Isaly eclipsed the 100-yard mark through the air. He completed 6 of 9 passes for 102 yards and a pair of second-half touchdowns to River Thompson, who finished with four grabs for 72 yards.

Defensively, the Pilots only gave up 39 yards on 23 rushes as the Tigers had trouble running the ball. Through the air, four different players threw at least one pass. Karl Tsoras went 5-for-8 for 90 yards and an interception in place of injured starter Ben Wach, who completed 7 of 13 attempts for 70 yards and a pick.

Dylan Booth had five receptions for 43 yards. Elijah Brock caught four passes for 73 yards.

“We moved the ball up and down the field at times, but we were our own worst enemy with turnovers,” Shadyside interim head coach Mike Kernick said. “We shot ourselves in the foot a couple of times and you can’t do that against a good team like River.”

He was right about that. The Tigers coughed up the ball at the River 6 and again at the River 3 while also throwing a pass that was picked off at the River 33.

Lollathin had two TD runs in the first quarter and Max Castro converted the first two of his five PATs for a 14-0 lead. Johnson made it 21-0 in the second quarter, but Shadyside got on the board late in the first half when Wach picked up a River fumble on one bounce and outran everyone for an 88-yard return. Gavin Bommer made it 21-7 at the half.

The Tigers, who had all the momentum, received the second-half kickoff, but two penalties stalled the drive and they punted.

Relying on the big boys up front, the Pilots navigated 78 yards on 10 plays and ate up more than five minutes. They picked up half-a-dozen first downs and Isaly capped the march with a 9-yard strike to Thompson.

“That was an important stop,” Flannery stressed. “They had the momentum, but we stopped them. Then we drove down and scored. That was a huge stop.”

Kernick agreed.

“Football is all about momentum,” he said. “We had it and had the ball, but they stopped us on that first drive. Then we gave up a touchdown and it was 28-7.”

Thompson was also a force on defense as he recovered a fumble and intercepted a pass. Blue also had a pick, as did Shadyside’s Booth.

The teams combined for 24 penalties – 12 each – for 183 yards, with River being flagged for 95.

River 41, Shadyside 7

Shadyside 0 7 0 0 – 7

River 14 7 7 13 – 41

R-Lollathin 8 run (Castro kick)

R-Lollathin 64 run (Castro kick)

R-K. Johnson 34 run (Castro kick)

S-Wach 88 fumble return (Bommer kick)

R-Thompson 9 pass from Isaly (Castro kick)

R-Lollathin 13 run (Castro kick)

R-Thompson 40 pass from Isaly (kick failed)

RUSHING: Shadyside 23-39 (Wach 8-19, Tsoras 10-12. Brock 1-8, Wagner 2-7, team 1-(-2). Mavrikos 1-(-5). River 45-423-4tds (Lollathin 14-157-3tds, K. Johnson 11-90-td, Isaly 4-71, Bowers 10-65, Long 4-43, team 2-(-3)

PASSING: Shadyside 13-25-164-2x (Tsoras 5-8-90-int, Wach 7-13-70-int, Brock 21-3-4, Baker 0-1). River 6-9-102-2td-int (all by Isaly)

RECEIVING: Shadyside 13-164 (Booth 5-43, Brock 4-73, Tsoras 2-25, Micker 2-23). River 6-102-2tds (Thompson 4-72-2tds, Lollathin 2-30)

FIRST DOWNS: Shadyside 12. River 22

FUMBLES: Shadyside 4-2. River 2-1

PENALTIES: Shadyside 12-88. River 12-95