First-year River Islands coach Nicolas Kendall wasn’t ready to believe the hype behind his prized transfer.

All he had known about Darien East was from press clippings and word-of-mouth.

“I told him to make me a believer, and tonight, he did that,” Kendall said after notching his first win on Friday. “I never saw him play live until today, and he showed up.”

East scored four touchdowns, and quarterback Daryl Carpenter completed six touchdown passes when the Riptide overwhelmed visiting Waterford with a late flurry on the way to the 49-20 victory.

River Islands (1-0) gleefully avenged a 33-6 season-opening 2025 loss to the Wildcats (33-6), rallying for 30 unanswered points in the final 17 minutes, 28 seconds.

“We came out with the mentality of never letting up,” East said. “We all came together as a team and continued to build on our chemistry throughout the week. We fail as a team, and we win as a team. I feel like tonight, that camaraderie and brotherhood really showed.”

East accounted for three consecutive touchdowns in the third quarter alone, including a momentum-shifting 61-yard punt return.

A running back at his last stop, Sierra, the shifty junior showed his receiving chops in the impressive debut for the Riptide, finishing with eight catches for 168 yards and three scores. East could have hit the 200-yard mark and added another TD but had a 42-yarder called back by penalty.

There was some uncertainty with East’s eligibility until the days leading up to the zero-week contest. The hope was for him to be available for all 10 of River Islands’ regular-season games, instead of serving the sit-out period, per transfer rules.

“I just wanted to play so bad,” East said. “When we were told I was able to play, the weight was lifted off my shoulders. It was such a relief that I could just actually zone into the game and come out here and do what I did.”

Carpenter and East picked up where they left off as teammates two years ago for the Sierra junior varsity.

Carpenter finished 20 of 28 for 326 yards and six touchdowns against no interceptions. He connected with six different receivers, while completing a touchdown pass each to Christian Dell’Osso (five catches, 90 yards), Mikey Figueroa and Gabriel Ramirez.

“The line held up, and the receivers did their jobs,” Carpenter said, while shouting out offensive linemen Colin Socheath, Dean Rivera, Josiah Mattes, Dominic Manzanares and Santiago Flores.

“Mikey Figueroa made a nice catch in the end zone, Christian Dell’Osso did, as well, and Darien East did what he does. We owe it all to Coach Kendall, because he called some amazing plays today.”

Waterford was led by sophomore quarterback Ruben Pastran, who completed 12 of 23 passes for 176 yards and a touchdown, while running for 32 yards and another score.

The Wildcats were able to go toe-to-toe with River Islands for the first 2 ½ quarters, in large part because of penalties. The Riptide managed to lead 19-14 at halftime, despite being flagged for 13 penalties — one of which was declined, because a River Islands receiver lost a fumble at the opponent’s goal line.

A roughing-the-passer infraction on fourth-and-6 kept Waterford’s opening series alive, and it capitalized on the opportunity with a 24-yard run from C.J. Price (15 rushes, 36 yards).

Later in the first quarter, Dell’Osso had a 65-yard touchdown reception negated by a penalty, and River Islands ended that drive on downs.

“I always tell the boys to play hard, and if you’re going to make a mistake, make it at 110 percent,” Kendall said. “Unfortunately, some the calls today were what they were. We just have to battle through it and find a way to win.”

The defense played a role, coming up with three turnovers. Figueroa caused two of them, with a forced fumble (recovered by Lucas Ruiz) and an interception. Adrian Villarreal picked off a pass on the final play of the first half.

“I’m really excited about the units we have,” Kendall said. “Even with our backups and our third-string guys, when they got in, they knew what they were supposed to do. We had a really good first week. Everything that they thought was just for torture over the summer prepared us for this.”