A strong defensive effort sparked Riverside Military Academy to its first victory of the season Friday night, beating Strong Rock Christian 21-7 at Maginnis Field in Gainesville.

The Eagles' defense caused five turnovers in the game, and the offense cashed iun.

Riverside Military drove the ball 99 yards in less than three minutes to tie the game before the half on a 31-yard pass from quarterback Chandler Jones to Darrien Herring.

Jones went 8-for-11 for 115 yards and two touchdowns. Herring had three catches for 47 yards and a touchdown, and Javon Thompson had four catches for 60 yards and a touchdown. Running back Kaseem Duke had 18 carries for 111 yards.

After going up 14-7 in the fourth quarter on Chandler’s second touchdown pass, Thompson recovered a Strong Rock Christian fumble at the Riverside Military 4-yard line and returned it 96 yards for the touchdown.

Riverside Military (1-4, 0-1 Region 8-AA) visits Washington-Wilkes 7:30 p.m. next Friday.