The Riverside running back had a career night on Senior Night with 301 rushing yards to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark on the season and ran for five touchdowns in a victory over Montrose on Friday. Here’s more from Green’s interview with Times-Tribune staff writer Shane Hennigan.
Which of the five touchdowns was your favorite? Probably the last one. It was on a dive and it was just a shocking play. I didn’t think I was going to score on it. The play is just supposed to be for short yards but I just broke it to the outside and I was gone. It was my last carry of the night, too, so it was a pretty cool way to cap it off.
Your first two touchdowns helped you guys take a 20-7 lead in the first quarter. How important were those to get the team going? Our team hasn’t scored on first possessions so we just focused on that all week and we finally got it this week. On the second touchdown run, I had a couple of my linemen push me in, actually. It was a good feeling.
How do you possibly follow up a performance like that? I don’t even know. It’s a good feeling to have that happen. We just have to have focus for next week on Lakeland and the following week against Dunmore. We just have to keep pounding.
Do you put any added pressure on yourself because of that big game? I don’t put any more pressure than what I have. I just let it flow and just let it happen.
With the season heading into Week 9, how would you characterize your team at this point in the season? We’ve gotten better so far. From Week 1, I think we have improved a lot so we’re just striving for a district title right now. We’re 5-3 and we just have to keep rolling.
How much does this season mean to you knowing that it’s your senior year? It means a lot. Friday was my last home game ever playing on that field. It’s a terrible feeling but a good feeling knowing that we’re a good team this year and we’re actually going somewhere because Riverside hasn’t had a good football team in the last couple years.
How much more fun has this season been compared to the past couple? The last two seasons, I think we started out 0-6 and 0-7. That’s a bad feeling. But we won our second game this year and kept going after that. It feels real good to win games like this. Two shutouts and then a mercy-rule victory in the last three games. It feels real good.
It has to feel real good when you’re rushing for 300 yards, too. That is crazy. That’s a lot. I just keep thinking about it. I mean, 300 yards and five touchdowns is a lot.
What were your goals coming into the season? To break 1,000 yards and to get a district title.
What’s the team’s relationship like? They’re my boys. I hang out with them all the time. We’ve been friends since I came to the school, which was in fifth grade. I have a good connection with everyone.
Any thoughts on what you might want to do following graduation? I want to go to college and either run track or play football. It doesn’t matter. I don’t know what I want to study but I have a lot of time to think about it. I was thinking, though, about sports medicine.