2026 MSAC Football Preview: Riverside

Riverside Football

Riverside finished 17th in Class AAAA — one spot out of the playoffs — while going .500 in the Gold Division. The margin between a lost season and a postseason berth was one game.

The Program at a Glance

Riverside went 2–8 in 2025 but was 2–2 in the MSAC Gold Division, third of five. The Warriors finished 17th in the final Class AAAA rankings, immediately outside the 16-team playoff field.

2025 in Review

2026 Schedule

Coaches Interview

All right, coach. Beginning the third week of preseason camp. School starts on Wednesday. What's the feeling so far in this camp?

Coach Michael Terrell   

·       They're excited. They're ready to get after it play. We had our first streamer Friday night. A little, little learning lesson. Just getting people in different positions back and forth. So, other than that, they're excited. They're ready to get after it.

How's the quarterback competition going?

Coach Michael Terrell 

·       Quarterback, right now we got Ethan Scruggs and Jaden Clark. He's a senior. He's doing pretty good, learning some different things. He got to do some snaps last year, so he's familiar with him. So, he's coming into his own. He should be ours. He's more of a runner than a thrower, so we'll see how we can get him to pass the ball a little bit more.

As you know, the game is won. trenches. Yes, sir. How are you feeling about your offensive and defensive line?

Coach Michael Terrell 

·       Yeah, I love it. They made the line they want to be physical. We got to hold them back some practices. They want to hit a lot. So got a lot of young ones with some size to them, and they want to play, and they're picking up the offense pretty well. So I feel like, like I said, they'll be the meat of our team this year. We'll go as far as our line can take us.

You know, the MSAC toughest conference in the state. You scrimmage an MSAC opponent this Friday.  At a George Washington. You know, what are you looking to get out of your team on Thursday?

Coach Michael Terrell 

·       Same thing I said a couple other times. I want to see them compete. Don't give up. Don't quit. Something goes bad. Keep your head up. Like I said, it's not the end of the game. Like I said one time, a few times last year, we felt like we had a couple plays that turned over the game, and our players laid down because they thought it was over. So I just want to see them compete Friday. It's GWA's tough component. Be a good test for them to see where we're at.

Absolutely. What's the like excitement from your players? You know, they beating on each up on each other through the summer camp, you have your first scrimmage, now a second scrimmage coming this Friday here. But how excited do you get from them for the opening game next week?

Coach Michael Terrell    

·       Oh, they-we were talking about it before we came out. They're trying to look forward to Nicholas County already, and I'm telling them, listen, guys, we got one more scrimmage we need to lock in, but they're-they're ready to go. If they can play, I think they play tomorrow. To be honest, and like I say, they're tired of hitting on each other, so they're ready to go.

You're coaching at your alma mater. You've been coaching here for some years, but your first year as the head coach. What does it mean to you to be, to be leading this team?

Coach Michael Terrell 

·       It means a lot. Like I said, I never thought I'd be a head coach. I never really wanted to be it. Like I said, some of the players came to me and changed my mind and said, "Coach, will you put in for it? We'd love to play for you. So it's kind of it's a learning experience doing stuff. Everybody thinks coaching head coach is just out here on the field. It's a lot of behind the scenes things. But I love it. Like I said, community's behind me, community's got my back. They've been awesome, so we're just anxious to see how it goes this season. Hope we can get this thing turned around. Absolutely. You

In sports, it's about wins and losses, but also too, it's about building up people. What does it mean to you to be able to build up these young boys to men.

Coach Michael Terrell 

·       That's a big thing. I tell them all the time. It's about it's not about just football out here for me. It's about being able to make the smart decisions in life. To teach them out here to do it right the first time, hopefully it carries over that they do it right the first time in life, life lessons. Like I said, that was instilled in me by two coaches I played under, and I've tried to carry that on, be here for them, show them with the brotherhood, and always pick each other up and encourage. I guess, what are you looking forward to this season.

What are you looking forward to this season?

Coach Michael Terrell 

·       You like to get better every day. I'm looking for the boys to come out here, even like today, and told them when we was in there, hey, do something better today than than you did yesterday. Be a better person, even if that's picking up the guy beside you when he messes up. Encourage him. Just do something better every day to better yourself, and that's what I'm looking for this season. Each week, just to get better, win some games and compete. Like I said, keep keep the margins close instead of getting blew out games. Just be competitive in these things. Let them know that hey, you played Riverside this week.

Coach Terrell, thank you.

Coach Michael Terrell

Thank you, man.

The Takeaway

As Terrell works to bring Riverside through its last few weeks of preseason camp, he is liking what he sees, especially in quarterbacks Ethan Scruggs and Jaden Clark, as well as an offensive line that should prove to be among the strengths of the Riverside offense this year.

With Riverside set for a scrimmage at George Washington, Terrell keeps stressing the importance of improvement off the scorecard - teamwork, accountability and the lessons learned through football.

With Riverside fans behind him and Terrell hungry to help build the program back up, this season marks Terrell's first year coaching at his own high school, as the Warriors take the field against Nicholas County on August 28.

🎥 Check out DUBVSN's MSAC Football Preview as we count down to the 2026 season.