Riverwood dropped to 0-4 in head coach Josh Coffey's first season after falling 43-13 to Westminster on Friday, Sept. 18, according to MaxPreps.
The non-conference road matchup in Atlanta marked Riverwood's first away game of the season. Westminster came in winless at 0-3, per AJC standings, but the Wildcats dominated from the start.
Ahead of kickoff, the program named its four team captains for the season: senior defensive end Jake Kaplan (#8), Eli Vise (#3), Zion Melton (#14) and Aniber Jacinto (#56). Riverwood Football's account on X credited the group with setting the standard in the weight room, at practice and on game nights.
Kaplan, who joined Coffey at the Fulton County Schools Football Media Day on July 24 at the College Football Hall of Fame, has emerged as one of the team's more prominent voices. Speaking with Appen Media before the season, he pointed to a noticeable shift in the team's mentality, crediting the grind of early-morning offseason workouts for building a level of grit he hadn't seen in his teammates before.
That resolve hasn't yet shown up in the win column. Riverwood has been outscored 200-45 across four games, following earlier losses of 48-12 to North Springs on Aug. 21, 59-17 to Dunwoody on Aug. 28 and 50-3 to Pebblebrook on Sept. 10.
Coffey arrived at Riverwood after serving as offensive coordinator at Denmark High School. He took over a program coming off a 1-9 season in 2025, bringing more than 16 years of coaching experience in Georgia, including stints at Union Grove, Lamar County, Chattahoochee and Spalding, according to the Riverwood athletics department.
In an August conversation with the Fulton Neighbor, Coffey framed perseverance as the foundation of the program's identity, saying his seniors had bought into the culture he's trying to instill.
Still winless, Riverwood now turns to Region 7-AAAAAA play, where it will face Alpharetta, Lanier, Gainesville, Roswell, Milton and Johns Creek.
The Raiders open region play Friday, Oct. 2, hosting Alpharetta at Hoskyn Stadium at 7:30 p.m.
