PORT JERVIS – Linebacker Ben Rivera impressed Port Jervis football coach Damien Striharsky last year as a seventh grader.
And Rivera wasn’t mixing it up with the modified or jayvee team. He was making plays against the varsity team as a 12-year-old during practices.
This season, as an eighth-grader, Rivera earned the call-up to varsity and has proven to be one of the key players on the Red Raiders’ defense. He also plays H-back on offense for Port Jervis.
“Ben brings an intensity to the game and he presents well on the field,” Striharsky said. “He would stand out last year in jayvee/varsity practice and give our guys hiccups when he was playing linebacker and made some catches coming out of the backfield. Ben has a good knowledge of the positions is not afraid to play on varsity and has good size, so we decided to call him up.”
Rivera, who is 6-foot, 180 pounds, leads Port Jervis with 20 tackles and has scored a touchdown on offense. The Red Raiders play at Beacon in a Section 9 Class B showdown at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. Both teams enter the game 3-0, 1-0 Class B.
Rivera, who turns 14 in November, said he was somewhat surprised that he was called up to varsity this year. However, Striharsky and his teammates had confidence in him. Aside from a few opening-game nerves, Rivera’s transition has been seamless.
Striharsky raised Port Jervis football from the ashes when he took over as coach five years and the future seems bright with players such as Rivera in the fold.
“It feels good to be up here, to prove myself, and just to show out and help the team,” Rivera said. “I just always try to keep focused on the task that has been assigned to me and it is exciting to be a part of the team that is doing well. I just try to attack the ball, do my assignments, and study a lot of film.”
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