River Valley captains Jayden Walker (3), Abubaker Faisal (1), Dom Younker (7) and Dario Fujimoto (58) walk towards midfield for the coin toss prior to the start of the Falcons’ game against Natomas on Sept. 5.

YUBA CITY, CA (MPG) – The line “There’s no place like home” rang true last Friday night for the River Valley football team as it returned to Falcon Stadium after two games on the road and earned its first win of the year by holding off Natomas 20-18.

Aided by an electric atmosphere in the stands, the Falcons overcame some late mistakes to keep the Nighthawks winless on the season.

On top 20-12 with four minutes remaining in the contest, River Valley was heading for an insurance score, but instead turned the ball over after fumbling in the end zone.

Falcon running back Kavari Drummonds splits the Natomas defenders on a run in River Valley’s win on Sept. 5.

Then, after managing to get the ball back they once again had another opportunity to put the game away, but fumbled on second and two giving Natomas yet another chance.

Although the Nighthawks did close the gap to just two points, the Falcon defense made the necessary stops to preserve the win, which obviously was something Coach Mikey Badaluco was pleased to see.

“Our defense played better this week,” Badaluco said. “They got tough all night when Natomas got into the red zone.”

River Valley’s Kobe Edwards (21) hauls down a Natomas ball carrier as his teammates provide support during the Falcons’ home opener on Sept. 5

On the other side of the ball, RV got a big game from Kavari Drummonds, who the Falcons converted from wide receiver to running back just two weeks ago, as the junior rushed 14 times for 122 yards and scored three times as well.

Sophomore Kobe Edwards had another nice outing gaining 89 yards on 13 carries, while quarterback Dom Younker completed four passes for 84 yards.

Looking to build upon last week’s success, the Falcons (1-2) host Oakmont (0-2) on Sept. 12.